The Golden Boat

The Golden Boat

1991 · 83 min · ★ 6.5 · Drama, Comedy

Inspired in form by American police TV shows and soap operas, The Golden Boat is a madcap, surreal dash through the streets of New York city, telling the mysterious and often hilarious story of an aged street-person named Austin, a comically compulsive assassin, as he joins up with a young rock critic and philosophy student named Israel Williams. In the course of their adventures, Austin pursues his object of desire - a Mexican soap opera star - and along the way engages a host of TV characters and bit players, whose repartee range from gangsterish insults to the question of God's existence.

Directed by Raúl Ruiz · Written by Raúl Ruiz

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Filmin

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 20m together

Both from Raúl Ruiz.

More from Raúl RuizSee all →

The One-Eyed ManThe One-Eyed Man · 1980
The One-Eyed Man
★ 9.01980
MovieDrama
With his body now devoid of substance and able to fly, N. wanders looking for a way to return to life and reintegrate into the world.
ChuquiagoChuquiago · 1977
Chuquiago
★ 8.11977
MovieDrama
Racial, social and cultural aspects of La Paz (called Chuquiago by the Aymaras) seen through four stories.
Days in the CountryDays in the Country · 2004
Days in the Country
★ 7.62004
MovieDrama
In a bar in Santiago, two old men talk over their past. This is a strange discussion. In fact, they talk of themselves as if they were dead. We don't know what is true or false, what is dream or reality.
Of Great Events and Ordinary PeopleOf Great Events and Ordinary People · 1980
Of Great Events and Ordinary People
★ 7.51980
MovieDocumentary
In 1978, Ruiz was commissioned to make a television documentary about the French elections from the viewpoint of a Chilean exile in Paris’ eleventh arrondissement. But, contrary to the producers’ expectation, the Left lost. Ruiz seized on this anti-climax to make a documentary about nothing except itself – a film whose central subject is forever lost in digression and ‘dispersal’, harking back to his Chilean experiments of the ‘60s. Its political content is deliberately left negligible: it’s hard to tell at the end who did actually win the election, let alone why.
Manoel’s DestiniesManoel’s Destinies · 1984
Manoel’s Destinies
★ 7.31984
MovieFantasyAdventure
When the child Manuel wanders into a garden that is off-limits to him, he meets an unidentified fisherman, and another boy -- the boy is actually himself several years down the road. Manuel experiences three different versions of his encounters in the garden, revealing that fate can have several twists and turns in one's life, depending on decisions that are made early on.
City of PiratesCity of Pirates · 1984
City of Pirates
★ 7.21984
MovieDramaFantasy
A surreal odyssey in which a melancholic maidservant crosses paths with a homicidal little boy, travels to a tiny island of pirates and encounters a man with multiple personalities.
Manuel on the Island of WondersManuel on the Island of Wonders · 1984
Manuel on the Island of Wonders
★ 7.21984
SeriesKidsSci-Fi & Fantasy
This three part French TV serial for children (alternate versions exist as a feature, Manoel’s Destinies, and a 4 part Portuguese TV serial, Adventure in Madeira) is the favourite of many devotees of Raúl Ruiz. This is because it ties the enchantment and mystery of Lewis Carroll, Carlo Collodi and the Brothers Grimm to the filmmaker’s experiments with narrative strategies and what he calls the pentaludic model of storytelling (where characters are thrown dice-like into combinations and situations governed by the play of Chance and Destiny).
Palombella rossaPalombella rossa · 1989
Palombella rossa
★ 7.11989
MovieComedyDrama
Michele is an MP for the Italian Communist Party who loses his memory in a car crash, though hardly anyone around him seems to notice. During a crucial water polo match on the eve of election day, he gradually begins to remember his past life, revealing a man whose personal and political identity crisis mirrors that of Italian communism itself.
On Top of the WhaleOn Top of the Whale · 1982
On Top of the Whale
★ 7.01982
MovieFantasyDrama
A parody of anthropology, linguistics, and cultural imperialism. The film follows an unlikely team of linguists into the wilds of an ersatz Patagonia to study the last speakers of a dying language. That language apparently consists of a single word, which therefore means everything.
Richard IIIRichard III · 1986
Richard III
★ 7.01986
Movie
Richard of Gloucester uses murder and manipulation to claim England's throne.
The Insomniac on the BridgeThe Insomniac on the Bridge · 1985
The Insomniac on the Bridge
★ 7.01985
Movie
This quickly-filmed avant-garde farce by prolific director Raul Ruiz features an insomniac (Michel Lonsdale) whose main preoccupation is surreptitiously watching private matters -- he is a voyeur. He and an equally disreputable acquaintance rape a woman alongside the Seine, a crime made all the worse because she is pregnant. The rest of this slow-paced film deals with the consequences of that action.
The Hypothesis of the Stolen PaintingThe Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting · 1978
The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting
★ 7.01978
MovieDramaMystery
Two narrators, one seen and one unseen, discuss possible connections between a series of paintings. The on-screen narrator walks through three-dimensional reproductions of each painting, featuring real people, sometimes moving, in an effort to explain the series' significance.
Three Crowns of the SailorThree Crowns of the Sailor · 1991
Three Crowns of the Sailor
★ 7.01991
MovieAdventureFantasy
Shortly after murdering his professor, a young man encounters a sailor who offers him a position on his ship in exchange for 3 Danish crowns and his attention as he recounts his life story.
Brise-glaceBrise-glace · 1990
Brise-glace
★ 6.61990
MovieDocumentary
Collaborative experimental project on which three director made different films about the Swedish icebreaker "Frej".
Mysteries of LisbonMysteries of Lisbon · 2011
Mysteries of Lisbon
★ 6.52011
SeriesDrama
The tragic story of the many lives of Father Dinis, his dark origins and his pious works, and the different fates of all those who, trapped in a sinister web of love, hate and crime, cross paths with him through years of adventure and misfortune in the convulsed Europe of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. (A longer television version of the film of the same name, released in 2010.)
Three Lives and Only One DeathThree Lives and Only One Death · 1996
Three Lives and Only One Death
★ 6.51996
MovieComedyCrime
Four intertwining stories of bizarre occurrences in Paris featuring a man who was stolen away by fairies, a professor who becomes a tramp, the lovers who inherit a chateau – and the last tale that connects all that has gone before.

More Like This

MayMay · 2003
May
★ 6.62003
MovieDramaHorror
A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie VernonBehind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon · 2006
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
★ 6.42006
MovieComedyHorror
The next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, all the while deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them.
Silent MovieSilent Movie · 1976
Silent Movie
★ 6.51976
MovieComedy
Aspiring filmmakers Mel Funn, Marty Eggs and Dom Bell go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the movie more marketable, they attempt to recruit a number of big name stars to appear, while the studio's creditors attempt to thwart them.
A Short Film About KillingA Short Film About Killing · 1988
A Short Film About Killing
★ 7.61988
MovieCrimeDrama
Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
The FrightenersThe Frighteners · 1996
The Frighteners
★ 7.01996
MovieHorrorComedy
Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent.
The Knock Out CopThe Knock Out Cop · 1973
The Knock Out Cop
★ 6.51973
MovieActionComedy
Inspector “Flatfoot” Rizzo investigates crime and corruption in Naples.
Blazing SaddlesBlazing Saddles · 1974
Blazing Saddles
★ 7.21974
MovieWesternComedy
Crafty railroad worker Bart becomes the first Black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the citizens of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new protector. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend Jim are their only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population.
Savage GraceSavage Grace · 2007
Savage Grace
★ 5.72007
MovieDrama
This examination of a famous scandal from the 1970s explores the relationship between Barbara Baekeland and her only son, Antony. Barbara, a lonely social climber unhappily married to the wealthy but remote plastics heir Brooks Baekeland, dotes on Antony, who is homosexual. As Barbara tries to "cure" Antony of his sexuality -- sometimes by seducing him herself -- the groundwork is laid for a murderous tragedy.
IntactoIntacto · 2001
Intacto
★ 6.62001
MovieActionComedy
An enigmatic tale of four people whose lives are intertwined by destiny are subject to the laws of fate. They discover that luck is something they cannot afford to be without as they gamble with the highest stakes possible in a deadly game from which only one of them will emerge intact.
Mulholland FallsMulholland Falls · 1996
Mulholland Falls
★ 6.01996
MovieDramaMystery
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
StakeoutStakeout · 1987
Stakeout
★ 6.51987
MovieActionComedy
Two detectives observe an escaped convict's ex-girlfriend, but complications set in when one of them falls for her.
After HoursAfter Hours · 1985
After Hours
★ 7.51985
MovieComedyThriller
Desperate to escape his mind-numbing routine, uptown Manhattan office worker Paul Hackett ventures downtown for a hookup with a mystery woman.
2001 Maniacs2001 Maniacs · 2005
2001 Maniacs
★ 5.42005
MovieHorrorComedy
On their way to Spring Break, college kids take a detour through an old Southern town. The people of Pleasant Valley insist the kids stay for their annual barbecue celebration... but instead of getting a taste of the old South, the old South gets a taste of them!
Not OkayNot Okay · 2022
Not Okay
★ 6.22022
MovieComedyDrama
An ambitious young woman, desperate for followers and fame, fakes a trip to Paris to up her social media presence. When a terrifying incident takes place in the real world and becomes part of her imaginary trip, her white lie becomes a moral quandary that offers her all the attention she’s wanted.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter