The Einstein of Sex - Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld

Three actors portray Hirschfeld - one for the ten-year old sex sketcher, one for the student and young doctor, and one for the middle-aged doctor and institution head. The latter two are immersed in a world of male sexuality.

The audience gets to see a parade of attractive, freqently unclothed men, who appear as patients, nudists, hyper-masculine patriots, transvestites, or as other examples of early twentieth century marginal groups. Some scenes look like recreations of photographs from the period. Seemingly modern activities like "outing" or fighting sodomy laws were being done a long time ago.

Hirschfeld himself is shown trying for years to stay celebate and focus on his work, despite various temptations. He develops a relationship with a cute assistant, Karl Giese (played by Olaf Drauschke), that lasts for many years (though the film telescopes this). Toward the end Hirschfeld takes a long trip and cheats on Giese, although this is not explored in depth. So there is some personal journey mixed in with the wide social survey.

The camera work and sets give the movie an inexpensive feel, although the acting is servicable. I especially liked Drauschke (Giese), Gerd Lukas Storzer as Baron von Tauschenberg (a young, early assistant to Hirschfeld), and Gerry Wolf (as Hirschfeld's conservative uncle).

A big plus is that there is a 30+ minute documentary on Magnus Hirschfeld and director Rosa von Prauheim. This gives more background on the history and on the director's views. There is also some documentary footage in the main film.

The photo gallery has some hot photos not in the film. Some of these appear on the back of the DVD case (with suitable alteration).

I upgraded the film a bit for the idea that Hirschfeld managed to do sex research on a scale unequalled before or since. (Kinsey was an honorable second.) Nowadays, the US Federal government resists funding any sort of sexuality study; having a finding that gay or bi sexuality is normal would outrage too many. Since the Nazis destroyed the Institute's records (forcing future researchers to start from scratch), this unique movie and accompanying documentary is a reminder of what is useful and possible. "The Einstein of Sex" is a worthwhile DVD to watch or own.


cute movie on gay rights hero   July 3, 2003
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This movie depicted the life of Magnus Hirschfield, a gay Jewish sexologist who helped advance the cause a gay rights decades before Stonewall. His research and institute were tragically destroyed by the Nazis. This film is a little low-budget. If it weren't for all the nudity, I'd almost think it was a TV movie. Maybe it was a play that finally got set to film. It does an excellent job of illustrating the gay, feminist, and nudist movements happening during the Weimar Republic. It also briefly touched on the debates, raging at the time, that gay men were either androgynous or hypermasculine. As a gay Jewish man during the Nazi terror, this figure and movie showed how Hirschfield was mistreated as a Jew and that more than just Jews were brutalized during that tragic time. Historians and interested people of all backgrounds should be interested in hearing of Dr. Hirschfield. This movie had a transsexual character and a hermaphrodite, so other sexual minorities may really like seeing it. It is so important for people to know that even before 1969, there were ppl challenging homophobia in their societies and standing up for themselves. I am glad that a German company decided to highlight a gay hero.