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This French drama, based on an 1850s essay by Thomas De Quincey, examines a brief, fictionalized time period in the life of Professor Kant. The story is set in Kant's hometown, Konigsberg; it chronicles his last few years prior to his death in 1804 at the age of 80. The story looks more at the great thinker's odd, obsessive lifestyle than it does his philosophies. Kant, truly a "mad professor," had himself on a rigid daily schedule. At night he slept in a mummy-wrap. During the day he imbibed tremendous amounts of coffee at rigidly prescribed intervals. The whole town was expected to keep a respectful distance when Kant took his daily walks. Melodrama enters the philosopher's life after his loyal servant for the past thirty years suddenly leaves.