Beautiful Dreamers is a 1990 Canadian dramatic film directed and written by John Kent Harrison. The film is about Dr. Maurice Bucke, the director of a Canadian mental hospital, whose life, his wife, and the lives of his patients are profoundly changed after he meets the American poet Walt Whitman. Directed and written by John Kent Harrison, the film stars Colm Feore, Rip Torn, and Wendel Meldrum.

Plot

Beautiful Dreamers (1990) tells the story of the turning point in the life of Dr. Maurice Bucke, the director of a mental hospital in Canada. When Dr. Bucke meets poet Walt Whitman, the lives of Dr. Bucke, his wife, and his patients undergo radical changes. The film emphasizes that Dr. Bucke and Whitman had avant-garde, pioneering ideas about mental illness. The movie is based on real events. It is also mentioned that Dr. Bucke was an important biographer of Walt Whitman.

Theme

The main theme of The Beautiful Dreamers is the adoption of avant-garde ideas about mental illness and the changes these ideas bring about in the lives of both the hospital director and the patients. The film explores the similar thoughts of Dr. Maurice Bucke and poet Walt Whitman on this subject, as well as the interaction between these ideas.

Cast and Characters

• Dr. Maurice Bucke (Colm Feore): He is the director of a mental hospital in Canada. His meeting with poet Walt Whitman radically changes his life, his wife, and his patients.
• Walt Whitman (Rip Torn): A poet with avant-garde ideas about mental illness, like Dr. Bucke. Dr. Bucke became an important biographer of Whitman.
• Jessie Bucke (Wendel Meldrum): Dr. Maurice Bucke's wife.

Nominations

The film received a total of 4 nominations. At the 1991 Genie Awards, it was nominated in the following categories:

• Best Achievement in Art Direction (Seamus Flannery)
• Best Achievement in Costume Design (Ruth Secord)
• Best Sound Editing (Terry Burke, Jim Hopkins, Tony Currie, Charles Bowers, Ellen Adams)
• Best Overall Sound (Jean-Pierre Joutel, John P. Megill, Adrian Rodd)