This film follows the life story of Herman Hesse, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946. Hesse was born in Germany on July 2, 1877, and made a vow at the age of 13 that he would be "a poet or nothing". He lived in his adopted land of Switzerland from 1912, until his death in 1962. This deeply philosophic writer was a pacifist, and a student of Jungian psychology, Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky, Spengler, and the Buddhist belief system. His writings, such as "Siddhartha", "Steppenwolf", and "Demian", reflect those influences. These themes made Hesse enormously popular with the counter-culture in America in the late 1950"s and 60's. The film gives insight into events which shaped the character and works of this great author. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi

这本书是黑塞经过青年时期的摸索与成年之后的自我追寻之后所创造的杰作。此文笔法优美抒情，情爱清新动人，通过追求完全相反的两个人的经历描述了潜藏在人类心中的两个灵魂—— 知识与爱互相抗争与吸引的过程。

《德米安：埃米尔·辛克莱的彷徨少年时》是黑塞的代表作之一，讲述少年辛克莱寻找通向自身之路的艰辛历程。出生并成长于“光明世界”的辛克莱，偶然发现截然不同的“另一个世界”，那里的纷乱和黑暗，使他焦虑困惑，并陷入谎言带来的灾难之中。这时，一个名叫德米安的少年出现，将他带出沼泽地，从此他开始走向孤独寻找自我的前路。之后的若干年，“德米安”以不同的身份面目出现，在他每一次孤独寻找、艰难抉择的时候，成为他的引路人……