Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Sigmund Freud is considered to be the father of psychoanalysis. His many case files and detailed notes have helped people immeasurably while influencing later prominent psychoanalysts like Jacques Lacan. With several psychoanalytic concepts like wit formation and the Oedipus complex, Freud’s legacy is indispensable to the medical community. Now, Netflix’s series, of the same name, brings Freud back in a whole new light.
The series follows Feud in his younger days before he becomes a towering figure in the world. We see his theories of the unconscious, and the use of hypnosis attracts ridicule. It makes him marginalized in the medical community. While his professional reputation, and engagement to Martha, are at stake, he stumbles upon a series of murders, that rocks the highest echelons of society.
Freud teams up with a psychic as well as a war veteran, and cop, to get to the bottom of the baffling murders. Naturally, the show’s setting only accentuates the narrative, which is somewhat of a cat and mouse chase. Curious to find out where ‘Freud’ has been filmed? We have got you covered in that regard.
Freud Filming Locations:
As you know, Freud spent most of his life in Vienna, which is also where his practice was. Accordingly, the story is set in Vienna as well, in 1886. However, this has posed a problem for the people behind the series. Vienna has decided to do away with a lot of the architecture from that time, and buildings have been modified or gentrified to reflect more recent architectural developments. So, the show filming was not done in Vienna.
Prague, Czech Republic
Freud has been filmed entirely in the Czech Republic, specifically in the city of Prague. Director Marvin Kren spoke about this, saying, “The show takes place in Vienna, but we shot the whole thing in Prague. The architecture of the cities is similar, but the great thing about Prague, and I am thrilled we shot there, is that unlike Vienna, which has been massively renovated over the years, it still has a historical patina to it.”
In fact, you can check out a tweet below, showing ‘Freud’ being filmed on location in Prague. Since the show is a murder mystery, quite a few scenes are bound to be filmed at night. The tweet makes it evident that the wet cobblestones in the narrow streets of Prague help to capture this intense atmosphere, perfectly.
https://twitter.com/memorydrone/status/1105025857385623552
Thus, while Prague might stand in for Vienna, there is no doubt that the latter has been a major visual influence throughout the show. After all, Kren grew up in the city and believes it to be the most beautiful city in the world. Moreover, he mentions a dichotomy between the day and night, in Vienna, which is likely to be experienced in ‘Freud’.
According to Kren, “It has a certain appeal that in daylight the architecture is beautiful, but at night it has a certain feeling of uncanniness. It is sinister and dark, and I am influenced by that.” Thus, there is little doubt that this ‘uncanniness’ (on which Freud has a book) will be used to make the murder mystery in the Netflix series, all the more compelling.
Although not many specifics of the filming locations are known, when it comes to the city of Prague, we do know that some scenes have been filmed indoors, including Dr. Freud’s office. However, being a murder mystery, a fair bit of legwork is required, which is why the streets of Prague become so important. You can check out the post below, which shares some behind the scenes shots, from ‘Freud’.
https://twitter.com/radekventruba/status/1236017532529672192
Upon going through Kren’s Instagram, it appears that some parts of ‘Freud’ were filmed at Lokal. You can check out the post below.
More importantly, we know that Barrandov, in southwest Prague has also been used to film certain scenes. This comes in handy especially because the show has made use of the Barrandov Studios, located there, for interior scenes, and for finer touches to the filming. Check out Kren’s post below.
In conclusion, while ‘Freud’ is set in Vienna, it has been filmed in and around Prague. However, it appears that great care has been taken so that the essence of Vienna is captured, helping to accentuate the action that plays out in the series.
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