316. The Eyes Of Orson Welles; movie review
THE EYES OF ORSON WELLES
Cert 12A
112 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references, language
Who would have thought it? Orson Welles was as good as an artist with pen, pencil or brush as he was as a film director.
Mark Cousins gives a very personal appreciation of Welles through his artistic work and shows how it is reflected in his movies.
There are clips from all of his most famous pictures to amplify Cousins' point that Welles' big-screen, small-screen and radio work dovetail with his paintings and drawings.
And full marks to Cousins for revealing even more about Welles' life than 2015's BFI retrospective and associated films.
Cousins is a poetic narrator of his films and here he records an imaginary letter to Welles in which he asks poignant questions about his life.
Meanwhile, he follows in the footsteps of the great director to places which influenced his work such as Ireland, Morocco and Vienna.
It results in a lovingly crafted fusion of Welles personal and professional life and benefits from the assistance of the libraries which hold his archive material and his daughter Beatrice who reveals even more intimate details.
However, this is far from a warts and all biopic - Cousins is a fan of Welles and makes it clear that he is moulding a tribute or even homage to the man who he believes was the greatest director of all time.
This probably is not the type of movie which will attract mainstream cinema-goers but the contextualisation of Welles' greatest work will delight students of film.
Well, it delighted me!
Reasons to watch: If you are a film buff
Reasons to avoid: My be a bit too detailed for some
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Drawn nudity
Overall rating: 8/10
Director quote - Mark Cousins: "The received opinion about Welles is that he started at the top and worked his way down, or that he was a self-saboteur. I just thought I was going to ignore that and, based on this material, come up with a structure that would feel fresh.”
The big question - Was Welles a hero or a villain?
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