The Reluctant Saint is a 1962 film which tells a somewhat fictionalized version of the story of Joseph of Cupertino, a 17th Century Italian saint. It stars Maximilian Schell as Joseph, as well as Ricardo Montalban, Lea Padovani, Akim Tamiroff, and Harold Goldblatt. The movie was written by John Fante and Joseph Petracca and directed by Edward Dmytryk. Saint Joseph of Cupertino was an Italian saint. He was said to have been remarkably unclever, but prone to miraculous levitation and intense ecstasies. This movie follows Joseph from his final days living at home with his mother . Because of... his slow wits, she has kept him in school despite his being a grown man, older than the other students. He is seen bearing patiently and good-heartedly with being ridiculed by fellow villagers, and enduring failed attempts at work as a laborer. At the insistence of his mother , we see him joining a Franciscan monastery through the influence of his uncle , an authority at the monastery. But trouble follows Joseph wherever he goes, including the monastery, because of his slow wits.
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