The first few scenes of my screenplay concerning the German philosopher who wrote Beyond Good and Evil, The Antichrist, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, to name a few titles.
PRELUDE TO ACT I LOHENGRIN
FADE IN:
EXT. BASEL UNIV. 1870 - COURTYARD - DAY
We see FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE from overhead, walking briskly
away from us. He hurries over the old flagstone court straight for a lecture
hall. No one else is in sight.
INT. BASEL UNIV.
HALLWAY
Nietzsche
makes his way to class beneath statues of gargoyles, a lion’s head, and a
rearing horse. Hold a few beats on the horse.
NIETZSCHE
(O.C.)
The
philosophy of wild and naked nature beholds with the frank, undissembling gaze
of truth the myths of the Homeric world as they dance past.
INT.
CLASSROOM
MOVING
SHOT behind the heads of eight students at eye level from stage left to right.
Students listen seriously and take notes. A pair of students exchange impressed
glances.
NEW
ANGLE from Nietzsche’s right. Nietzsche is myopic. Although he is in his late
twenties and physically vigorous, he somehow seems older than his years. He
reads from a draft of his work. He is performing an act of oration at a
lectern, testing his material against a fully engaged audience.
NIETZSCHE
They
turn pale, they tremble under Demeter’s piercing glance—
(raises fist)
till
the powerful fist of the Dionysian artist forces them into the service of the
new deity.
The
students are impressed by the forcefulness and eccentricity of the popular
young professor. MOVING SHOT behind Nietzsche from his right to left.
NIETZSCHE
Dionysian
truth takes over the entire domain of myth as the symbolism of its knowledge. This it makes known
partly in the public cult of tragedy and partly in the secret celebration of
the dramatic mysteries, but always in the old mythical garb. What power was it
that freed Prometheus from his vultures and transformed the myth into a vehicle
of Dionysian wisdom?...
CLOSE
SHOT on Nietzsche’s face.
INT.
TRIBSCHEN STUDIO – ANOTHER DAY
NIETZSCHE
(O.C.)
...It is the Heraclean power of music.
CLOSE
SHOT left profile of Wagner’s WOTAN, a bearded baritone in costume BELLOWING a
note.
MOVING
BACK, we see Wotan’s fist raised in a gesture similar to Nietzsche’s.
WAGNER
(O.C.)
No!
No! No!
WAGNER
steps into frame, script in hand, and exaggerates Wotan’s pose. He is a small man
in his mid-fifties somewhat elaborately dressed with a wide forehead and
sideburns extending under his jawline. Nietzsche, seated, watches in the
background.
WAGNER
Like
this!
Wotan
repositions. Wagner turns on his heel and throws the script onto a chair with a
theatrical flourish.
WAGNER
(without looking at Wotan)
Better!
More!
EXT.
TRIBSCHEN GARDEN
We
hear OPERATIC SINGING from a distance.
NIETZSCHE
and WAGNER walk slowly from stage left to right on a path. Nietzsche is very
proper and has an almost uncomfortably chivalric bearing. Wagner is lively.
Otherworldly, lacy white garlands hang in the frame. We hear the idyllic SOUNDS
of nature around them.
NIETZCHE
What
irritates me most is that I’m forced to play roles, and I despise falseness. I
hate that at every moment I have to prove myself. I am constantly disappointed
in myself and jealous of the world.
WAGNER
But,
you’ve almost got it, my friend! Do you realize how close you are?
NIETZSCHE
(deferential)
Well,
one afternoon with the Master, and I feel like I can conquer the world.
WAGNER
What’s
stopping you? When I was your age, I was already a wanted man in half of
Europe.
NIETZSCHE
You’d
only written three of the greatest operas put to pen.
Wagner
claps a hand to Nietzsche’s shoulder.
WAGNER
I
learn a great deal from our little walks, young man.
NIETZSCHE
If
I learned a little more myself, I might one day rise from the trough of the
false prophets.
WAGNER
The
problem of your esteemed peers is that they have not earned the right to
propound on genius. Our German geniuses have died away, leaving only
self-important mediocrity. Our much praised composers, for example, have turned
to corrupt middle-class sentiment. Theirs is the low road. We have no
Beethovens! Yet, I see in you, my friend, the flower of the appreciation of
beauty.
Wagner
takes hold of a flower and wrests it rather violently from a branch.
WAGNER
True
genius cannot help but hold beauty as the dearest guiding principle. Let music
conduct you in all areas of endeavor, and you cannot fail. That I promise you.
NIETZSCHE
If
music will conduct my life, then it will be because you conduct the music.
Nietzsche
and Wagner sit. The light is filtered softly through leaves.
WAGNER
I
have in mind certain thoughts on the gods–my next work, the scale grandly
conceived.
(gesturing toward the singing)
This
Wotan is useless, but I’ll find another. Someone unknown. The end of the gods will occur in a great
battle. They will leave the sphere of men in a fiery apocalypse. They know the
end is going to come, and they live their lives anyway. The hero, Siegfried,
necessarily dies, and we will mourn him with sad ceremony. The dwarves, of
course, control the gold–those Jews!
Nietzsche
smiles stiffly but before he is forced to respond, from among the vines and
garlands rife upon the tended trail, COSIMA makes an airy appearance. She is
mature, aristocratic, angular, and slightly defensive. Next to Wagner, she
seems taller than she is.
COSIMA
(to Wagner)
Lunch
is served.
(to Nietzsche, graciously but without
warmth)
I
understand you are enjoying your teaching?
WAGNER
(standing and clapping Nietzsche on the
back)
Our
Nietzsche will go on to great things.
NIETZSCHE
(with a slight bow)
I
am unreservedly grateful.
(nodding to Cosima)
Baronness.
Cosima
returns the nod and turns to lead them toward the house. Nietzsche’s eyes
follow her.
Wagner
catches Nietzsche’s attention and makes a crude, possessive gesture about
Cosima behind her back. Nietzsche smiles slightly and swallows uncomfortably. A
leaf drifts down and rests on Nietzsche’s back. We hear the sudden, discordant
CHATTERING OF BIRDS.
INT.
NIETZSCHE’S ROOM, NIETZSCHE AND OVERBECK’S FLAT – THAT NIGHT
CHATTERING
OF BIRDS FADES.
A
white nightshirt flutters gently as it is draped over a chair.
NEW
ANGLE. The room also contains a closet, a bed, and a bowl and ewer on a chest
of drawers in front of a mirror. Nietzsche sits on the bed, loosens his tie,
and pulls off his shoes. FRANZ OVERBECK leans against the doorframe, a rag and
a pair of shoes in his hands. He is clean-shaven and dark-haired, an
intelligent, sober presence.
OVERBECK
And
how was the Master today?
NIETZSCHE
(almost to himself)
Amazing.
Such grandeur. And the music.
Nietzsche
lets himself fall backwards on the bed with arms outstretched.
OVERBECK
Have
you got any boot blacking?
Without
looking or speaking, Nietzsche points to the closet. Overbeck moves to retrieve
the small jar.
NIETZSCHE
(gesturing emphatically)
I
could give a damn for philology!
OVERBECK
(with irony)
That
sounds like blasphemy, my son.
Overbeck
sits on the nightshirt on the chair and proceeds to black his shoes.
NIETZSCHE
He
is a tonic, a stimulant! I am enraptured. All of my senses come alive. The
entire atmosphere is utterly conducive to. . . And his home. . .And his wife.
More than charming. Incomparable.
Nietzsche
sits up abruptly.
NIETZSCHE
Yes,
I shall take you there.
Overbeck
looks up.
NIETZSCHE
It’s
all been arranged. You will be as astounded as I was on my first meeting with
the Master.
INT.
NIETZSCHE’S PREVIOUS FLAT 1868 – EVENING
A
distant RINGING. Nietzsche reads at a desk lit by a lamp in a corner of his
room by an unshaded window. The day outside is gray with a dense rain falling.
As the ringing continues, Nietzsche raises his head and returns to reading
several times before realizing the bell might be for him.
EXT.
NIETZSCHE’S SECOND-STORY FLAT FROM THE STREET
With
the light behind him, Nietzsche unlatches the window and pushes it open.
NIETZSCHE
(shouting)
Up
here! Come in!
EXT.
GATE, NIETZSCHE’S BUILDING
A
little old TAILOR’S MAN with a wrapped package continues to RING the bell.
INT.
NIETZSCHE’S FLAT
VARIOUS
ANGLES. A clock in the background reads 6:30. Nietzsche stands at a mirror in a
new evening suit examining the fit. The tailor’s man waits behind him.
Nietzsche
stands in his shirttails with the new suit over his arm as the tailor’s man
presents the bill.
TAILOR’S
MAN
I’m
to be paid upon delivery.
NIETZSCHE
I
deal only with your employer. Good evening.
TAILOR’S
MAN
(obstinately)
I’m
to be paid upon delivery.
The
tailor’s man grabs for the clothing. Nietzsche attempts to pull it away, and
they engage in a surreal, slow motion tug of war. Nietzsche begins trying to
force a leg into the pants.
Nietzsche
lets go and assumes a dignified posture.
NIETZSCHE
All
right then. I assure you, your employer will hear of this.
After
the tailor’s man has departed, Nietzsche sits on the sofa without pants
examining a black jacket. He tosses it aside with frustration.
EXT.
LEIPZIG STREET – SAME EVENING
The
night is windy and wet. Nietzsche, wearing the black jacket, pulls his collar
up with a jerk.
EXT.
BROCKHAUS (WAGNER’S SISTER’S) RESIDENCE
The
rain has stopped. Everything is wet and glistening in lamplight. Nietzsche
prepares to mount the steps to the ornate front door when the door seems to
open of its own accord.
NIETZSCHE’S
POV. MOVING UPWARD. We hear TRISTAN AND ISOLDE, and we see wrought iron
railings on either side of the steps as we move up into the halcyon light cast
from the doorway. Inside, we see dim figures carrying drinks and engaging in
conversation passing across the entryway. Beyond, in bright light, Wagner turns
toward us and stands beaming. His appearance is at once both comical and
imposing; his attire is eccentric, but his demeanor, with his jutting jaw and
clear eyes, is proud and confident.
INT.
NIETZSCHE’S ROOM – RETURN TO PRESENT
Overbeck
pauses in blacking his shoes.
OVERBECK
The
man has mesmerized you.
Nietzsche
stands, moves to chest of drawers, and removes his necktie. We see his
reflection in the mirror.
NIETZSCHE
He’s
like a father to me.
OVERBECK
Your
father was a minister, wasn’t he?
NIETZSCHE
He’s
expecting guests on Saturday.
EXT.
CARRIAGE ENROUTE TO TRIBSCHEN SATURDAY – DUSK
VARIOUS
ANGLES. We hear the opening strains of DAS RHEINGOLD. A carriage moves in the
distance, passing through the dusklit Swiss countryside.
EXT.
LAKE LUCERNE
The
carriage stops at misty Lake Lucerne. The sun has descended behind snow-capped
peaks wreathed in clouds, a few remaining rays streaking the sky.
A
rowboat crosses the lake. Through the mist, an island appears. On the island
stands a box-like villa, from the many windows of which candlelight shines. DAS
RHEINGOLD ends before the water nixies break into song.
INT.
DRAWING ROOM, TRIBSCHEN
Candle-
and lamplight plays over couches and chairs, books, manuscripts, engravings,
busts, potted palms, damasked walls, Lembach paintings, and figurines of
characters from Wagner’s operas, including on the mantel a statuette of the
character Siegfried raising a knife. There is a fire on the hearth and also
butterfly cases with their delicate contents pinned to cloth backing.
Wagner
stands at the hearth, raising a glass with his small son SIEGFRIED clinging to
his leg. Siegfried’s posture replicates almost geometrically that of the
Siegfried statue. Nietzsche and Overbeck stand next to Cosima. Several other
guests are arranged around the room. Servants stand near doorways and
unobtrusively attend to guest needs.
WAGNER
To
my friends the professors!
The
group ECHOES the toast. SIEGFRIED’S NURSE attempts to peel the child off
Wagner’s leg. The boy CRIES, and Wagner pats him on the head without looking at
him.
WAGNER
(to Siegfried’s nurse)
You
have to be firm.
Siegfried’s
nurse pulls the child away, and Wagner turns to the statue of his character
Siegfried on the mantel.
NIETZSCHE
We
are only too happy to learn from you.
WAGNER
How
familiar is Herr Professor Overbeck with the grand project? You know my first
two operas. Alberich forges the magic ring from the stolen Rheingold. He loses
it to the brother giants. One kills the other, keeps the ring, and becomes the
dragon. Now, Siegfried is raised in the forest by Alberich’s brother Mime who
schemes to hammer Siegfried into the sword that takes back the ring. Mime
imagines he will then kill Siegfried and keep the magic power of the ring for
himself.
Suddenly,
he contorts himself grotesquely, hobbling about back and forth in front of the
fire.
WAGNER
(excited)
You
see, of course, they’re the Jews!
We
see Wagner’s total absorption for a few beats, and we hear an exaggerated SOUND
of fire consuming wood. We hear an OMINOUS STRAIN from Wagner’s opera.
WAGNER
We
have to raise German art from the depths back to its former greatness, the high
art of Goethe and Beethoven!
His
audience appears enraptured, almost swept up in his diatribe.
CLOSE
ANGLE. Nietzsche’s face . . .
TREATMENT -
I include here extensive notes on the remaining scenes of the 30 in my screenplay.
Nietzsche plays piano for Cosima (NOTE: For the sake of dramatic narrative, and in keeping with Nietzsche's life right up to the time of his last written words, OVERMAN pursues possible if not plausible romantic tension between Nietzsche and Cosima Wagner.)
5.
Discipleship to Wagner- Cut to N
alone with W, on a stage; W is sloshed; we see that N drinks as minimally as
politely possible; W talks about conquests--repulses N inwardly on this point;
we doubt W’s sincerity; we see he is a posturing flamboyant blowhard; we see
hints of a one-sided friendship.
6.
Rejection of Cosima- That evening we
see W all tuckered out; N and C are in the parlor; N is at the piano; C touches
him provocatively, perhaps gently petting his head (she knows, perhaps, of his
migraines), but gets no reaction; true-blue N, chivalric, scared, plays
something Liszt and ignores the invitation; C says nothing, but coldly leaves,
hurt, embarrassed.
7.
Errand-Boy- Cut to N hurriedly
running errands for the W’s, per C’s request, before and after classes--Liszt’s
“Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” here--in a frenetic, stylized sequence. We hear in
V.O. C reading her lists, spilling over each other, cutting each other
off--”would you mind getting us a” and “so good of you to”--and included is
concern for N’s growing health problems. N takes on Chaplin-esque physical
comedy movements in this frenetic sequence. Finally we see him exhausted in his
tiny Basel office faced with a daunting stack of work.
8.
Headaches- We open on N, still in his
office surrounded by work; we can see by his clothes and the difference in the
paperwork around him that it is another day. N is suffering from terrible
migraines. He gets a letter from his sister. She and her hubby are doing
splendidly in Nueva Germania--CUT to the Forsters sweating in tight garb in the
South American heat with an oppressive drone of insects buzzing--close-up on
each- -“We are happy in our splendid work” of anti-Semitism, racist doctrine,
etc. N, wracked with headaches, pukes.
9.
Franco-Prussian War- (We hear a knock
on a door.) Close-up on Siegfried’s tin soldiers; we see a child’s hand, huge
in the foreground, place a tin soldier on horseback in the “field”; a door
opens and N appears in the background; W and C want to dissuade N from his
already having enlisted as a medical orderly (as a Swiss citizen); we suspect
there is a certain amount of games-playing; we suspect W dissuades out of
jealousy--W and his Norse battle-gods lose face; C complies because she knows
on what side her bread is buttered and because she is a woman scorned; at the
same time, we supect N’s pure motives--but none of this is said. W and C remind
in V.O. flashback of N’s previous military service ending due to a riding
accident: CUT to rearing horse, N being thrown; (we hear a sound like an
unearthly horse whinnying--it is the piercing whistle of a train); CUT to N at
train station; N is surrounded by vulgar masses saying goodbyes, etc. ZOOM IN
slowly on soldier in railcar window--bearded, haggard, yet hard, grim, a
one-eyed man; cut to N looking up, slightly awestruck; cut back to one-eyed
man; zoom in slowly on empty socket as we overlap the fade out of this scene
with the fade in of the next...
10.
On the Battlefield- Fading in: outstretched limbs of men and horses; we pan
slowly across the battlefield to “Moonlight Sonata”; after approx. two minutes
of this, we cut to N with orderlies, soldiers and, presumably, prostitutes;
these five women look very much like London’s East End Victorian prostitutes;
it is not said yet we suspect that N has, at some point in his life, visited a brothel
before, and that the experience may have in some way left him wounded; we hear
in V.O. that W and C have gotten married while N was away--a battle lost for N,
if not the war; pan across another battlefield, perhaps as N leaves on train,
wracked with pain--dysentery, etc.; carnage of battlefield with smoke and dying
fires.
11.
X-mas- Cut to W’s X-mas candlelit
banquet, 1871; X-mas, we learn, is also C’s b-day; N’s seat is empty; he has
been back from the war for over a year, health shattered; with low camera angle
from the table we see a wreath hanging on the wall looks like a crown of thorns
on missing N; N has posted C an early copy of “B of T”; C is critical,
dismissive; we see that W has no idea C is prompted to criticize having been
scorned by N; W is glad to upstage N with his “gift” to C of a musical
dedication; we suspect we are seeing a certain amount of prostitution at the
this festival of self-promotion...
N
is too busy to come for C’s birthday. As a gift, Nietzsche sent Cosima five
drafts of prefaces to five unwritten books like a choice cherry. Wagner reads
them aloud, and the group doesn’t understand them. They think he’s getting too
big for his britches.
Cosima
sends N a letter indicating N’s absence had pained Wagner and critiqued his
five prefaces.
Students
are not showing up to his classes.
12.
Rejection by Cosima- N gets cold
reception from C; his health is still poor; we sense C gets the “upper hand”; N
is consoled by Elisabeth, who, despite not having read anything of N’s, defends
her big brother the genius, showing us how E could play an important part in
N’s life in spite of herself.
13.
“Birth of Tragedy” Adversity- We see
N with W laying foundation cornerstone at Bayreuth; hammer hits spike like nail
in coffin. A small casket is placed alongside the stone. The casket contains a
telegraph from King Ludwig: “This day which is so significant for all of
Germany.” Wagner hammers three times: “”;
WAGNER
Bless
you, my stone, long may you stand and firmly hold!
Cut
to N no longer being appreciated by his students; there is a bad reaction
against “B of T” promoted by jealous rivals; Pamphlets against BofT and open
letters in newspapers. Wagner does an open letter in defense of Nietzsche and
attacking attacker. Irwin Rohde supports N.
Crazy,
hideous woman claims to be Dionysus and loves BofT. Nietzsche recounts incident
to Wagner.
N
has a dream at the end of the scene where Michelangelo’s Bacchus gets beheaded
(the invisible sword-stroke on the marble sounding like the hammer on the
cornerstone spike), blood fountaining from the upheld marble wine cup as though
it were a severed neck; the little satyr or faun giggles and kicks its cloven
marble hoof--
14.
Seeing Wagner Clearly- Smash cut to
little Siegfried running to W’s side with outstretched arms; it is clear that W
has not bothered to read “B of T”; W shows no interest in N’s problems, only
interested in N’s praise of him–he doesn’t know N at all; he wants N to resume
his old idolatry of him by following him to Bayreuth--where the W’s are in fact
now moving...
15.
Ill-Health: On Leave- Nietzsche goes on
month-long “cure” in Geneva; helping Wagner found Bayreuth is, strangely, one reason
for the leave-taking; he meets Mathilde Trampedach and hastily proposes
marriage--making a fool of himself...
16.
Composing- Nietzsche overcomes with
music, and writing: we hear “Toccata and Fugue”; N’s pen rises and falls like a
conductor’s baton; his hands fly over pages super-induced over the hands of the
Bach-playing organist fluidly, perhaps opium-induced; images of his writing
rise and fall behind him (N is seated at his desk, seen from the front, low
angle) in accordance with the musical notes; at the key break three or so
minutes into “Toccata” we switch to outdoor scenes of N hiking moving among
more images of his writing which flit about in time with the music; doors in
trees open and shut like cuckoo clocks and the doors on pipe organs; the forest
is playing the music; when the tree-doors open, we see flashing glimpses of N’s
creations, his as-yet-unformulated, all-too-unformulated, concepts (prior to 1878)...
17.
Break with Wagner- N attends first
Bayreuth Festival “Ring” performance; he is sickened by the rampant racism and
jingoism of the vulgar mob; he is despondent at what he knows is the loss of
his friend, despondent at realizing that his friend was really a dream all
along, that W’s true self was a racist opportunist; much opportunity for music
used in conjunction with stage shots and observers.
18.
Ill-Health: Resigns- N so sick that
he is forced to resign; E supervises breakup of N’s house, things, takes N back
to Naumburg and Mother; he then “experiences moments of visionary bliss during
which he is overwhelmed by such profound insights into the riddle of life that
he wept with joy.”
19.
The Wanderer and His Shadow- V.O. of
N’s letters to Overbeck: we see N traveling alone; summer in St. Moritz, winter
in Genoa, spring in Genoa, summer in Sils Maria, fall in Genoa, winter in
Genoa, spring in Messina; N mentions E’s and Mother’s coldness and distancing
as Christian fallout (“And they haven’t read a word”); N has met Paul Ree, and
recounts E’s reaction on learning Ree was Jewish; we see N traveling by train,
in the right cities for him in the right seasons; we see N juxtaposed against
passengers with close-knit family ties, loved ones, jobs, roots; we see N
eating alone, observing, maintaining the bearing of a regal military prince
traveling incognito...
20.
Meets Lou Salome- Ree introduces Lou
Salome to N; she is exactly what he is looking for--N seems to fail to
understand, or not care, that Ree needs someone to “chaperone” the two of them;
Lou, intoxicating, Artemis-like, must be had but cannot be had (she is
twenty-one now and remains a virgin until she is thirty-six); images of horses
spin by them on a carousel at a carnival; they see a tightrope walker, an
elephant, a leopard; elsewhere together beer hall music abounds; N gets E to
spend summer (as a “chaperone” of his own) with Lou and N in Toutenburg together;
N spends fall alone in Leipzig, Rapallo in Nov.
21.
Death of Wagner- March and April in Genoa, May Rome, summer Sils Maria; N hears
that W has died; we hear “Ride of the Valkyries” as if from a distance, muted,
faded; N recalls in flashback his and W’s final meeting in Sorrento, fall of
1876; we see N on a hike in Sils Maria that leads to his idead of Eternal
Recurrence.
Nietzsche
encounters bust of Wagner at train station
22.
Rejection by Salome- N has come on
too strong for Lou; she dumps him for Ree.
23.
Birth of Zarathustra- We see N alone
on hike in mountains, hear his Zarathustrian thoughts in V.O.; we see N bathing
naked in a high mountain waterfall, sluicing himself; then there is silence,
stillness; the intro to Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” begins as the camera
pans closely on the body of water over which it is swiftly moving; as the music
grows, the view widens, all in a continuous unbroken shot, and we speed over
mountains arrowstraight higher and higher, till the musical intro ends at the
highest peak in sight.
24.
Moves to Turin- Five years have
passed; it is now 1888, N’s fatal year, effectively; he has acknowledged his
need for support from his sister and mother, yet they alienate him; he has left
Sils Maria to winter in Nizza, summer again in Sils, winter in Nizza, summer in
Sils, winter in Nizza, summer in Sils, winter in Nizza (1887 now); then in
April he moves to Turin (still somewhat petty and misogynistic, smarting from
the scars left by Lou; he enters the city in typical eccentric fashion, to the
land of Bizet--we hear a snippet of “Habanera”); then it’s summer in Sils one
last time; by fall he moves to Turin.
25.
Beginning of Fame- At the Univ of Copenhagen Georg Brandes lectures on N; cut
from classroom to V.O. on N in Turin, lying down with a cold cloth on his face
looking like the Shroud of Turin--we hear Handel’s “Messiah”; still in V.O., we
see N fumbling, stumbling, myopic, frugal, “high-maintenance,” somewhat creepy,
unknown to N, to a woman and her daughters in a restaurant...
26.
Dictation to Disciple- N delivers a
lecture to foppish Koselitz, who gladly assumes slavish role for N due to N’s
declining eyesight; N takes on W role, but improved.
27.
Overbeck- We see Overbeck getting a
letter from N, then having to defend him--we see that O is worried for N--the
reactions against him, the boldness and outlandishness of his claims, his
rootlessness, his bad health; somewhere, perhaps overheard in the background,
we hear of Jack the Ripper...
28. Talking to the Horse- Close-up on Nietzsche speaking; we hear various sounds--street sounds, marching bands, mutterings; the camera slowly pulls back to reveal he is talking closely to a mistreated horse with a carriage behind it; N seems oblivious to a gathering crowd; continuous shot, no cuts; when camera pulls to widest point, holds several seconds before cutting.
1889
NIETZSCHE
My
wife Cosima brought me here.
29.
Inside the Asylum- Overbeck arrives
at the Finos to pick up N; the Fino children have looked through N’s keyhole and
spied on him jumping about by himself naked in Dionysian rites; his medication
is working well enough now that he recognizes O; on the train to Basel, though
(O takes N to Jena Asylum) N is sings songs wearing the nightcap he asked for
as a parting gift from David Fino--N the fool is Dionysus; inside the asylum,
someone yells out that he’s Jack the Ripper; the camera travels down the
winding halls to N; close-up on his face; from somewhere come the vicious
sounds of snapping dogs; fade to long shot of N being taken by E back to
Naumburg, where N stays, a virtual zombie, until his mother dies in 1897; E
takes N to Weimar and sets up shop; she has control of all of his writing, and
of him.
30.
Display and Release- the year is
1900, sometime prior to August 25; Elisabeth has done exactly what Nietzsche feared: she has
made him a prophet; she runs a business whereby tourists pay to see N propped
in the white robes of a prophet; from N’s perspective, vacant, mindless Christs
in robes carried on crosses by people visiting to see N on display are casually
dragged; we hear E’s rehearsed lines, all lies, not a word true; close-up on N:
as E’s racist lies fade away, muted, we hear to growing strains of the choral
“Ode to Joy” sequence in the Ninth; close-up on N’s eyes; we see something
there, as if there is a flash of cognizance; N throws off robe and jumps out
window before E and tourists came make it in the room where he stands on
display; N dashes naked across grassy field as music grows; as music climaxes,
we see N has become Dionysus; Dionysian imagery abounds in a growing cornucopia
that fills the screen with N as D at center, loosely resembling Michelangelo’s
“Last Judgment”; image holds, but does not freeze; at climax of music fades to
black.
