Publisher's Synopsis
Screenwriter Dennis Potter and director Roger Spottiswoode collaborate on this biopic about the eighteenth century Viennese physician, Franz Anton Mesmer (played by Alan Rickman), who used unorthodox healing practices based on his theory of 'animal magnetism'. Mesmer's theories were revolutionary, but he was reviled by his contemporaries. Rickman won Best Actor award at the Montreal Film Festival. Music by Michael Nyman.
