Memoirs of My Nervous Illness (2006)

Memoirs of My Nervous Illness is based on the 1903 journal written by Daniel Paul Schreber a distinguished German judge while incarcerated in an asylum under the watch of the obsessive Dr Emil Flechsig Bob Cucuzza Schrebers insanity was characterized by startling delusions all chronicled in his journal including a belief that he directly communicated with God through a secret nerve language and a desire to transform himself into a woman The film depicts the eccentric mans increasing descent into his alternate universe of supernatural powers Meanwhile Flechsig struggles to maintain control of his patient finding himself both attracted and repelled by Schrebers femininity The narrative culminates in a courtroom plea by Schreber for his freedom from the asylum