The Last Relic (1969) on Netflix
NR19691h 26mAdventureHistoryRomance
In 16th-century Livonia, a convent wants the relic that Hans von Risbieter inherited. He promises it to the monastery in exchange for Agnes, the abbess's niece. Gabriel, a free man, loves her.
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- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.7/101,754 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Plot summary
In 16th-century Livonia, during the Livonian War, an old knight dies and leaves a holy relic to his son, Hans von Risbieter. The abbess and monks of a convent nearby want it for their monastery. Captivated by Agnes, the abbess's niece, Hans says Saint Bridget came to him in a vision and told him to donate the relic once he and Agnes are married. While the betrothal is being prepared, Agnes meets Gabriel, a free man, who falls in love with her at once. Rebels attack the estate and break up the ceremony. Gabriel gets Agnes away and escorts her to Tallinn.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Last Relic (1969)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Viimne reliikvia set the absolute box office record for the entire Soviet Union in 1971, selling 44.9 million tickets.
- A typical live-action film of the era had a standardised budget of 350,000 roubles, but the team behind Viimne reliikvia haggled a budget of 750,000 roubles, more than double the customary.
- The film became extremely influential and was repeatedly parodied: in 1992 Ivar Vigla made a brief parody of it for his Wigla Show on Estonian TV, and the jokes he built on the film's quotes became popular on their own, later lampooned in the Ugala Theatre's production of The Love for Three Oranges.
- In 2000 the Estonian Film Foundation and Tallinnfilm chose Viimne reliikvia as an important part of Estonian cultural heritage and digitally remastered it to preserve it; it became the first digitally remastered Estonian movie, and others followed.
- The Pirita monastery at the centre of the film's plot is a real monastery dedicated to St. Brigitta, and its original medieval buildings lie in ruins today, kept that way as a museum.
