THE BOOK:

Martin Scorsese is one of the most spellbinding directors of all time, and he has an unequalled gift for getting under the skin of his audience, revealing sides of us that we would perhaps rather not look at. He communicates by means of archetypal and mythological structures that are older than Stonehenge, older than the Pyramids. Over the years I have been digging ever deeper in order to unearth the treasures this master artist has hidden for us to discover in the innermost recesses of his work. 

The Passion of Martin Scorsese: A Critical Study of the Films is my book which was published in the spring of 2011 by McFarland & Company.

The book offers a step-by-step analysis of the deepest archetypal themes, symbols and structures in Martin Scorsese’s entire body of works from the early shorts to his latest feature films, The Departed which won four Academy Awards and the astounding Shutter Island.

The Passion of Martin Scorsese: A Critical Study of the Film examines each of Scorsese’s works as a mythological journey through which the main character is offered an opportunity for psychological and spiritual enlightenment, for seeing, accepting and embracing rejected traits in himself.

The book argues that these characters are reflections of each and every one of us, that Scorsese’s films hold up a mirror, offering the audience, a similar opportunity to learn essential truths about ourselves, truths that we have an acute need for if we are to transform ourselves and the world we live in.

The purpose of the book is to provide the reader with an understanding of these important films, and how they can transform our lives if we have the courage to truly listen to what they are telling us. Films speak the language of the unconscious, and Scorsese offers a powerful shortcut directly into the caves where we have buried our darkest, most painful secrets.

I am completely convinced that Scorsese's films presents us with an invaluable opportunity to look deep within ourselves and retrieve forgotten powers that we need if we are to transfigure and heal our lives and the world we live in.

In my career as a teacher, speaker and writer, I explore works of art – mainly films – that symbolically depict the labyrinth of the human heart and mind. This is my life’s work, and I have spent the past 15 years submerged in the breathtaking films of Martin Scorsese.

I am Annette Wernblad. I live in and work out of Copenhagen, Denmark. I have a degree in American Studies and Film Studies from the University of Copenhagen. For ten years I was employed by the University of Copenhagen at the English Institute, and I still teach film studies at the Extramural Department there.

I own my own business where over the past decades I have been leading intensive courses, workshops and seminars on mythology and archetypal psychology in film for business executives, advertising agencies, and psychologists as well as for private clients. In 1992 I published the book Brooklyn Is Not Expanding: Woody Allen’s Comic Universe at Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

I am considered the foremost authority on Martin Scorsese in this country and I have lectured at leading European universities as well as appeared on Danish national television as the local Scorsese expert. Prominent people such as Cheryl Richardson, Debbie Ford, Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker, and Leonardo DiCaprio have enthusiastically supported this book and have offered invaluable support at various stages.

“As one of many who have attended Annette's classes on the hero myth and journey in the movies I cannot recommend her writings and teaching on the topic highly enough. I've always felt enriched after these courses and watching movies today is an even greater pleasure than it was before I got acquainted with Annette's enlightening thoughts.”

Henrik Søndergaard Frederiksen (Senior Vice President)

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