O Pagador de Promessas
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| Keeper of Promises (O Pagador de Promessas) |
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 Original poster in Portuguese |
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| Directed by | Anselmo Duarte |
| Produced by | Francisco de Castro Anselmo Duarte Oswaldo Massaini |
| Written by | Dias Gomes (play) Anselmo Duarte |
| Starring | Leonardo Villar Glória Menezes Norma Bengell Dionísio Azevedo |
| Music by | Gabriel Migliori |
| Cinematography | H.E. Fowle |
| Editing by | Carlos Coimbra |
| Distributed by | Cinedistri (Original release) Globo Vídeo (Re-release) Lionex Films Inc. (US) Doperfilme (Portugal) |
| Release date(s) |  March 24, 1964 (NYC only) |
| Running time | 98 min |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
O Pagador de Promessas is a 1962 Brazilian drama film directed by Anselmo Duarte. Its title literally translates as The Payer of Promises, but the film has been known by several other names in the English-speaking world, such as Keeper of Promises, The Given Word and The Promise.
Duarte, who was also one of the film's producers, adapted the screenplay himself from the famous stage play written by Dias Gomes. It won the 1962 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first (and only, to date) Brazilian film to achieve such a feat. A year later, it also became the first Brazilian film in history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
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[edit] Synopsis
Zé do Burro (Leonardo Villar) is a landowner from Nordeste. His best friend is a donkey. When his donkey falls terminally ill, Zé makes a promise to a Candomblé priestess: if his donkey recovers, he will give away his land to the poor and carry a cross all the way from his farm to the cathedral of St. Bárbara in Salvador, Bahia, where he will offer the cross to the local priest. Upon the recovery of his donkey, Zé leaves on his journey. The movie begins as Zé, followed by his wife Rosa (Glória Menezes), arrives outside the cathedral. The local priest (Dionísio Azevedo) refuses to accept the cross once he hears about Zé's "pagan" pledge and the reasons behind it. Everyone attempts to manipulate the innocent and naïve Zé. The local Candomblé worshippers, for example, want to use him as a leader against the discrimination they suffer from the Roman Catholic Church. The sensationalist newspapers transform his promise to give away his land into a call for land reform (which still is a very controversial issue in Brazil). When Zé is shot by the police to prevent his way into the church, the Candomblé worshippers put his dead body on the cross and force their way into the church.
[edit] Main cast
- Leonardo Villar as Zé do Burro (Donkey Jack)
- Glória Menezes as Rosa, Zé's wife
- Dionísio Azevedo as Olavo, the priest
- Geraldo Del Rey as Bonitão (Handsome)
- Norma Bengell as Marly, the prostitute
- Othon Bastos as Reporter
- Antonio Pitanga as Coca, the capoeira player
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Palme d'Or – Anselmo Duarte (won)
- Special Jury Prize – Anselmo Duarte (won)
San Francisco International Film Festival
- Golden Gate Award for Best Film – Anselmo Duarte (won)
- Golden Gate Award for Best Musical Score – Gabriel Migliori (won)
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by The Long Absence tied with Viridiana |
Palme d'Or 1962 |
Succeeded by The Leopard |
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