A loose adaptation of German writer and revolutionary Georg Büchner's novella of the same name, which in turn chronicles the life of writer Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-92) and his gradual slide into insanity.
Direction
Rockwell's debut shot on leftover 16mm—pure desperate vision.
Acting
Rockwell plays Lenz like he's actually losing his grip.
Cinematography
Grainy black-and-white that breathes anxiety into every frame.
Director
Alexandre Rockwell
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Rockwell shot this in 1982 at age 22, then shelved it for years—finishing it only after his 1992 Sundance hit 'In the Soup' gave him credibility.
Büchner's 1835 novella invented modern psychological fiction; this adaptation honors that legacy by refusing to make Lenz's madness remotely comforting or picturesque.
US
