Memoirs of My Nervous Illness

MemoirsofMyNervousIllnessisbasedonthe1903journalwrittenbyDanielPaulSchreber,adistinguishedGermanjudge,whileincarceratedinanasylumunderthewatchoftheobsessiveDr.EmilFlechsig(BobCucuzza).Schreber'sinsanitywascharacterizedbystartlingdelusions,allchronicledinhisjournal,includingabeliefthathedirectlycommunicatedwithGodthroughasecret"nervelanguage,"andadesiretotransformhimselfintoawoman.Thefilmdepictstheeccentricman'sincreasingdescentintohisalternateuniverseofsupernaturalpowers.Meanwhile,Flechsigstrugglestomaintaincontrolofhispatient,findinghimselfbothattractedandrepelledbySchreber'sfemininity.ThenarrativeculminatesinacourtroompleabySchreberforhisfreedomfromtheasylum.