A BLESSING

"There is true brilliance in Viktor and Tilly's love story. Their chemistry is palpable even on the page, and their dialogue is masterfully crafted. This story will change lives..." -Blue Cat.

"A powerful, unrelenting, and insightful story of humanity, inhumanity, and man's search for meaning. The script stands out not only for the affecting story it tells, which is as timeless in its portrayal of the human condition as it is historical, but for the reaction of the characters and the philosophy they bring to the table. Viktor sees the worst humanity has to offer and the worst it can endure, but he remains wise enough to acknowledge the humanity of all, including the oppressors, and look for a way to process it. Viktor says, "Hate is the fiction of a diseased mind", which is echoed later when Rabbi Jonas affirms that hate is but the absence of love. Viktor certainly does see love. His scenes with Tilly are sweet and at times breathtakingly romantic..."  ---THE BLACK LIST

"Heartbreak, joy, and even occasional comedy fill this fantastic script. The writer delivers skillfully!" --Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards

LOGLINE:   

A famous doctor’s childhood best friend shows up in a military uniform and tells him the new government has deemed him, his family, and millions of others, "life unworthy of life."

SYNOPSIS: 

Ordinary World

Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, a man searching for meaning, is on top of the world, literally and figuratively. He climbs mountains, dates nurses, and earns worldwide acclaim and recognition, but yearns for more.

Call to Adventure

Viktor’s childhood best friend Karl Dietrich shows up in a military uniform and tells him the new government has deemed him, his family, and millions of others “life unworthy of life.”  Dietrich gives Viktor a tool he can use to help save lives.

Refusal of the Call

Viktor does not accept reality. He believes hate is a fiction of a diseased mind. A lie. And like all lies, this new Nazi hate will pass over. He refuses to act.

Meeting with the Mentor

Viktor’s mother rebukes him for what she sees as his self-absorbed insouciance. She chides him to become the man she believes he is destined to be.

Crossing the First Threshold

Kristallnacht awakens Viktor to stop underestimating Nazis. He, along with his mountaineering buddies Otto and Hubert, rescues Viktor’s father, Gabriel, from a riot at one of Vienna’s landmark temples. It is destroyed, and much of the city with it.

Tests, Allies and Enemies

Viktor resists but refuses to give hate for hate. He believes that if you do, then even on winning, hate will be all that’s left, and it will consume the entire world. He meets the love of his life and marries Tilly. Together, they risk their own lives to help save others. 

They win some battles and lose others. 

“Hate is the fiction of a diseased mind.”

The Innermost Cave Approach 

Otto and his family are brutally assaulted and deported, but no one knows where. The Nazis publicly execute Hubert. Tilly is with a child, and Jews are not allowed to bear children. Viktor begins his descent into despair. His decisions have made it impossible for them to escape. Tilly must terminate her pregnancy.

The Ordeal 

Viktor departs with his wife, parents, and brother for the Theresienstadt Ghetto, where the threat of being transferred to a death camp constantly looms. Viktor struggles to find a way to follow his own philosophy, even as he deals with his father’s request to be euthanized. He receives his mother’s long-sought blessing and boards a train for Auschwitz. Tilly stows away onboard and reveals she’s with child again. At the death camp, they are separated. Dr. Mengele marks Viktor for death and incineration. 

Battle with the Brother

Karl Dietrich has risen through the ranks and, from his position of power, arranges Viktor’s transfer, saving his life. The two childhood friends engage in a searing battle.  Dietrich reveals a long-kept secret that serves as yet another crushing blow when Viktor, rescued by the Allies, survives and finds Dietrich’s body hanging naked from a tree on the road back to Vienna.

Temptation/Refusal to Return

Viktor suffers from typhus. Fever dreams and hallucinations plague him. He learns his mother and brother are dead. And then bears the “unspeakable” news of Tilly’s fate. Having now lost everything, Viktor succumbs to the temptation to end his own suffering. Despite his best efforts NOT to give hate for hate, he’s seen the love in his heart transform into a cold, vacant indifference, then into hate itself, and finally, in the “negation of the negation,” into self-hate.

He wraps a rope around his neck, stands on a chair, and gives in to the darkest of impulses.

The Road Back

Years later, Viktor visits a death row inmate at San Quentin prison and reveals how he, once again, avoided death. Tilly’s love and the lessons he learned from and with her prevailed. He endured.

The Ultimate Reward

Viktor’s life and works are celebrated worldwide. However, the ultimate reward is that Viktor’s personal search for meaning has ended. He realizes the meaning of his life. It is to help others find th meaning of theirs.

The Master of Two Worlds

Viktor takes his rightful place in the pantheon of both historical heroes and spiritual leaders. He learns and teaches that it is not enough to survive. 

One must be … A BLESSING.