Leggenda del santo bevitore, La (1988)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Ermanno Olmi

Writers:

Tullio Kezich (writer)
Ermanno Olmi (writer)

Release Date:

2 September 1988 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

French | Newsstand | Melancholy | Alcoholic Father | Paris

Awards:

9 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Rutger Hauer	...	Andreas Kartak
Anthony Quayle	...	Distinguished Gentleman
Sandrine Dumas	...	Gaby
Dominique Pinon	...	Woitech
Sophie Segalen	...	Karoline
Cécile Paoli	...	Fur store seller
Jean-Maurice Chanet	...	Daniel Kanjak
Joseph De Medina	...	Fat man
Francesco Aldighieri	...	Policeman (as Franco Aldighieri)
Françoise Pinkwasser	...	Inn woman
Joséphine Lecaille	...	Fat man's wife
Maria Mazzocco	...	Tari-Bari owner
Dalila Belatreche	...	Thérèse

Also Known As:

Légende du saint buveur, La (France)
The Legend of the Holy Drinker

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Company:

Aura Film

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Allemaal film: De amerikaanse droom (#1.6)" (2007)

A simple but beautifully executed little tale

This film embraces everything that contemporary Hollywood cinema is so afraid of - intelligence, moral complexity, and rich characterisation. It is a simple tale really - an alcoholic vagrant in Paris is lent 200 francs by a stranger, on condition that he repays it to a local chapel when he can afford it. But what makes this an extraordinary film is the manner in which we are drawn so completely into this seemingly trivial and futile quest. This is principally down to Rutger Hauer's towering performance as the haunted, suffering tramp, who has to battle both ill-fortune and his own past to repay the debt and find peace. There is little in the way of either dialogue or action, yet Ermanno Olmi's vision of a timeless, enchanted Paris is dazzling. A lesson to others in how to tell a story on film.