Die Legende vom heiligen Trinker (1988)

Die Legende vom heiligen Trinker: Directed by Ermanno Olmi. With Rutger Hauer, Anthony Quayle, Sandrine Dumas, Dominique Pinon. 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.

“Olmi is one of Europeu0026#39;s last Old Masters in the art of film making. He is usually regarded as a belated neo-realist, but after youu0026#39;ve seen u0026quot;The Legend of the Holy Drinkeru0026quot;, you will realize the label simply does not stick. This is a film about spirituality, about communion, one of the most deeply religious movies ever, whose only rivals might be Dreyeru0026#39;s u0026quot;Ordetu0026quot; or Bergmanu0026#39;s rather pretentious u0026quot;faith trilogyu0026quot; (u0026quot;Through a Glass Darklyu0026quot;, u0026quot;Winter Lightu0026quot; and u0026quot;The Silenceu0026quot;). However, you will not find Scandinavian mists or angst in Catholic Olmiu0026#39;s adaptation of the beautiful novella written, oddly enough, by a great Jewish novelist, Joseph Roth. Wine is a metaphor for life, and Paris is a metaphor for our urban world. In this symbolic universe, it takes a great actor to give flesh and blood to the character of Andreas, the holy drinker, a beggar endowed with an amazing sense of dignity. Rutger Hauer was the man for the job: this was his best performance: he was never better, and, to judge from the course his career has taken, I fear he will never be better than in this film. It is not a thriller, but it is thrilling. It takes its own leisurely pace, but goes very far, very deep indeed into the human soul. After so many insipid or unpalatable cinematic concoctions, treat yourself to this film: it truly is vintage stuff.”