 Director
Raoul Ruiz found inspiration in a case in the history of psychoanalysis to make this film.
Hermine Hellmut von Hug, a child psychologist in Vienna at the turn of the century
discovers that her five-year-old nephew shows homicidal tendencies. A disciple of Freud,
she firmly believes that the boy's personality even at so young an age, is defined. She
therefore decides to follow along with him as he grows up, until the day when he is to
commit the long awaited crime. It so happens, however, that the boy actually kills his own
aunt, the only one who would know of his criminal bent.He stands trial and is defended by Solange, a lawyer intent on
analyzing the complex and subtle relationship between victim and assassin. It would seem,
at first, that the aunt wanted not only to investigate his homicidal tendencies, but also,
to prove a new theory in psychoanalysis. The boy, in turn, besides wishing to punish the
aunt for her morbid curiosity, seems to have abided by her irresistible invitations to
commit an assassination. In other words, a dilemma between determination and freedom of
choice. To Solange, the lawyer, the case takes an unexpected turn in the course of her
investigations. The boy becomes ever more convinced that the aunt and his lawyer are, in
fact, one and the same person. At the same time, Solange sees in her client the
reincarnation of her own child who died in a road accident. The two become involved and
decide to live together. In this way, the vicious circle repeats itself. |
