The Legend of the Holy Drinker is a 1988 Italian film written and directed by Ermanno Olmi. The film won the Golden Lion at the 45th Venice Film Festival. It also won four David di Donatello Awards (for Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Editing) and two Silver Ribbons (for Best Director and Best Screenplay). The film was selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 61st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. It is based on the 1939 novella of the same name by the Austrian novelist Joseph Roth.

Plot

A drunken homeless man (Rutger Hauer) in Paris is lent 200 francs by a stranger as long as he promises to repay it to a local church when he can afford to; the film depicts the man's constant frustrations as he attempts to do so.

Cast