''Sweet Dreams'' (, also known as ''Golden Dreams'') is a 1981

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

comedy-

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed, written and starring

Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades, including a at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize ...

. It entered the 38th Venice International Film Festival, in which won the Special Jury Prize.

Plot

Michele Apicella (

) is a young filmmaker on a lecture tour, speaking to audiences after screenings of his films. An insistent audience member ( Dario Cantarelli) who appears at all the different venues repeatedly tells Michele that his films lack social relevance, challenging him to ‘show this film to a labourer from

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

, a shepherd from

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

or a housewife from

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

’. Having finished the lecture tour, Michele returns home to the house that he shares with his mother (

Piera Degli Esposti Piera Degli Esposti (12 March 1938 – 14 August 2021) was an Italian actress. She appeared in more than 70 films and television shows from 1966 to 2020. In 2009, she won the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mrs. En ...

) and begins working on a new project, a film called ''Freud’s Mother''. The strain of making the film takes its toll on him, and he retreats into a dream world in which he works as a teacher at a school and falls in love with one of his students, Silvia (

Laura Morante Laura Morante (born 21 August 1956) is an Italian film actress. Life and career Morante was born in Santa Fiora, province of Grosseto (Tuscany), the daughter of lawyer and playwright Marcello Morante, who was the son of Irma (née Poggibonsi) ( ...

). The dream turns sour as Silvia announces that she is moving to Argentina and will be gone for two years. This separation from Silvia drives Michele to the brink, and upon her return he transforms into a werewolf and chases her out of a restaurant, shouting ‘I’m a monster and I love you!’

Cast

: Michele Apicella * Nicola Di Pinto: Nicola *

: Silvia * Remo Remotti: Freud *

: Michele's mother *

Alessandro Haber Alessandro Haber (born 19 January 1947) is an Italian actor, film director and singer. Haber was born in Bologna in a Jewish family of mixed ancestry (his father was a Romanian Jew and his mother Italian) and spent his childhood in Israel. His m ...

: Gaetano *

Gigio Morra Luigi "Gigio" Morra (26 August 1945 – 10 March 2024) was an Italian actor, whose career spanned over 50 years. Life and career Born in Naples, Morra studied at the Accademia d’arte drammatica di Napoli, graduating in 1966. He started his ca ...

: Gigio Cimino * Giampiero Mughini: TV presenter *

Miranda Campa Miranda Campa (31 January 1914 – 7 May 1989) was a Swiss-born Italian actress and voice actress. Life and career Born Liliana Campa Capodaglio in Geneva, the niece of actors Pio Campa and Wanda Capodaglio, Campa studied acting at the ...

: Freud's mother *

Vincenzo Salemme Vincenzo Salemme (born 24 July 1957) is an Italian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Life and career Born in Bacoli, Province of Naples, Salemme began his career in 1976, with the stage company of Tato Russo. The following year he joined the ...

: cultural operator

References

External links

* 1981 films Films directed by Nanni Moretti Venice Grand Jury Prize winners Italian comedy-drama films Italian independent films 1981 comedy-drama films 1980s Italian films 1980s Italian-language films Films scored by Franco Piersanti {{1980s-comedy-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links