The Legend of the Holy Drinker (1988)

An alcoholic homeless man is given two hundred francs by a stranger, who requests that when he can he will return the money to Saint Therese in the cathedral.

Director:

Ermanno Olmi

Writers:

Ermanno Olmi, Tullio Kezich

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, Anthony Quayle, Sandrine Dumas

12 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rutger Hauer	...	Andreas Kartak
Anthony Quayle	...	Distinguished Gentleman
Sandrine Dumas	...	Gaby
Dominique Pinon	...	Wojtech
Sophie Segalen	...	Karoline
Jean-Maurice Chanet	...	Daniel Kaniak
Cécile Paoli	...	Fur store seller
Francesco Aldighieri	...	Policeman (as Franco Aldighieri)
Joseph De Medina	...	Fat man
Françoise Pinkwasser	...	Inn woman
Joséphine Lecaille	...	Fat man's wife
Maria Mazzocco	...	Tari-Bari owner
Dalila Belatreche	...	Thérèse
Claude Kolton
Jacques Pasternak

Storyline

An alcoholic homeless man is given two hundred francs by a stranger, who requests that when he can he will return the money to Saint Therese in the cathedral.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to saint teresa | seine river | homelessness | tramp | telephone box | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian French English

Release Date:

2 September 1988 (Italy)

Also Known As:

La leyenda del santo bebedor

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, Aura Film, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally announced in 1985 for Marcello Mastroianni

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Connections

Referenced in L'albero delle parole (Ermanno Olmi a Barcelona) (2018)

User Reviews

A crashing bore

This tale of a tramp who is the recipient of the milk of human kindness but who finds it difficult to repay the goodness shown to him is typical of its director, Ermanno Olmi, but whereas other Olmi films deal with the common-place with an uncommon beauty this tale of the mystical is overtly simplistic. "The Legend of the Holy Drinker" is visually superb and we should expect nothing less from an Olmi picture but it is also very dry, very dull and very unevenly acted, (the partial dubbing of its international cast certainly doesn't help).

As the tramp Rutger Hauer staggers around looking a little too bewildered at what's happening to him and the supporting cast are fundamentally just bit players in his far from interesting story. The Stravinsky score also sits somewhat uneasily on proceedings. Some people think this is a masterpiece while others have simply dismissed it. Personally I found it a crashing bore.