1919

Maria Schell (Sophie) and Paul Scofield (Alexander) turn in magnificent performances as former patients of Freud who meet for the first time in Vienna in 1970. Sophie convinces a wary Alexander to meet after she sees him interviewed on TV about his experience with Freud. In their one-day encounter, in a reluctant Alexander's cluttered apartment, the two sit down to talk. Sophie is now a divorced New Yorker of nearly 70, Alexander is a lonely widower; both still harbor resentment of Freud's treatment of their youthful "problems." Their personal narratives, shown in flashback, are poignant; Freud is an unseen but vivid presence in the therapy scences.