THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY DRINKER

Despite winning the top prize at the 1988 Venice Film Festival and four Italian “Oscars” (including best film and best director), this major work from the director of Il Posto and The Tree of Wooden Clogs was never distributed in the U.S. until now. Based on a novella by Joseph Roth, the movie stars Rutger Hauer as a drunken, homeless exile in Paris who is given 200 francs by an elderly stranger who asks only that he repay the money to a local church when he can afford to do so. The gift reverses the tramp’s fortunes, but his new material comforts distract him from meeting his financial obligation. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 127 min.