Saving Grace is a 1986 comedy-drama film directed by Robert M. Young, produced by Herbert F. Solow, and starring Tom Conti, Giancarlo Giannini and Edward James Olmos. It is based on a novel by Celia Gittelson with screenplay by Richard Kramer and David S. Ward under a different name.
| Saving Grace | |
|---|---|
 Video release poster | |
| Directed by | Robert M. Young |
| Written by | Robert M. Young Richard Kramer David S. Ward (as Joaquin Montana) Tom Conti |
| Based on | the Novel by Celia Gittelson |
| Produced by | Herbert F. Solow |
| Starring | Tom Conti Fernando Rey Erland Josephson Giancarlo Giannini Donald Hewlett Patricia Mauceri Marta Zoffoli Edward James Olmos |
| Cinematography | Reynaldo Villalobos |
| Edited by | Peter Zinner |
| Music by | William Goldstein |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $18,209 |
It was the last film to be distributed by Embassy Pictures.
Plot
editA year after his election, a youthful pope (Conti) longs to be involved in ordinary people's lives again, as he was when he was a priest. During an audience, the Pope communicates with a young deaf mute girl whose village has no priest. Accidentally locked out of the Vatican, the Pope travels to the small impoverished and demoralized village, his identity concealed by his beard growth. He realizes that the people need to rebuild a dilapidated aqueduct but, more importantly, that they must regain their community spirit and self-sufficiency. Without expertise and, initially, only the help of some street-wise orphans, he starts construction. All this is watched skeptically by a mysterious neighbour and opposed by local thugs led by Ciolino (Olmos) whose ill-gotten gains depend on the village remaining overly dependent on outsiders.
Production and release
editThe movie was shot in Italy: in the cities of Rome, Mantua and the ghost town of Craco.[1]
Saving Grace premiered in the United States on May 2, 1986, and in the Philippines on April 11, 1987.[2]
Critical reception
editWalter Goodman of The New York Times said, "There's no more engaging actor around than Tom Conti, but not even he, with the assistance of such notables of international moviedom as Giancarlo Giannini, Erland Josephson and Fernando Rey, can lift Saving Grace out of its slough of sentiment."[3]
References
edit- ^ "Saving Grace (1986): Cast, Credits & Awards". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Opens Today". The Manila Standard. 11 April 2018. p. 13.
Our Lenten Offering
- ^ Walter Goodman (18 July 1986). "Movie Review - Tom Conti stars in 'Saving Grace'". The New York Times.
External links
edit- Saving Grace at IMDb