The film begins with a likely apocryphal story about German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's mental breakdown on 3 January 1889 when he stayed at number six, Via Carlo Alberto, Turin, Italy. There, a coach driver was having trouble with a stubborn horse. The horse refused to move, whereupon the driver lost his temper and took his whip to it. Nietzsche was greatly disturbed and threw his arms around the horse's neck, sobbing. His neighbor took him home, where he lay motionless and silent for two