The Eyes of Orson Welles

Wisconsin Premiere • documentary • UK • 2018 • DCP • 115 MIN

section: New International Documentaries

The film critic and director behind the sprawling miniseries The Story of Film: An Odyssey returns with another impressively curated selection of clips in service to a poetic history of cinema. Taking the form of a fan letter addressed to Welles himself, this essayistic biography eschews straightforward chronology to explore several recurring themes in the director's life, including his endless artistic ambitions, his progressive politics, and his several romances, as they manifested throughout his career. Focusing as much on Welles's enormous volume of paintings and drawings as on his legendary films, Cousins crafts a story of a man blessed with a powerful and unique way of seeing the world as a collection of intensely lit spaces, dramatic angles, and offbeat human subjects. In teasing out the affinities between Welles's work in multiple fields, the documentary shows the lifelong fascinations and preoccupations that defined him, showcasing him as a visionary in the truest sense. Along with Welles's finally released The Other Side of the Wind (also playing at this year's WFF), Cousins’ playfully personal celebration allows us to see the iconic filmmaker's prodigious talents in a brand new light, demonstrating just how far we are from fully appreciating the true scope of this genius's skills. (TB)