The Dreamers (S)

Between 1980 and 1982 Orson Welles shot with very limited means scenes for a film based on two short stories by Isak Dinesen: “The Dreamers” and “Echoes.” The intention was to produce a lavish period movie. Written in collaboration with Oja Kodar, the script weaves the tale of opera singer Pellegrina Leoni, who loses her voice in a fire and then determines from then on to lead the lives of many. The merchant Marcus Coccoza follows her around the world, “a faintly perceptible presence who watches over her.” Since Welles couldn’t interest any producer in this project, he started filming in the living room and in the backyard of his house near Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Only a few scenes were shot with Oja Kodar in costumes designed by Welles himself. This restoration by the Munich Film Museum contains all the elements that were filmed, recorded, and partially edited by Welles: the lines of Marcus Cocoza, later renamed Marcus Kleek (played by Welles), and two versions of Pellegrina’s farewell.