''O Pagador de Promessas'' (, ''Keeper of Promises''The title translates literally as ''The Payer of Promises'', but the film has been known by several other names in the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

, such as ''Keeper of Promises'', ''The Given Word'' and ''The Promise''.) is a 1962 Brazilian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by Anselmo Duarte, based on the famous stage play of the same name by

Dias Gomes Alfredo de Freitas Dias Gomes () (19 October 1922 – 18 May 1999) was a Brazilian playwright. He was born on October 19, 1922 in Salvador, Bahia. He started writing plays at age 15 and later wrote soap operas. He wrote the first ever colo ...

. Shot in Salvador, Bahia, it stars

Leonardo Villar Leonardo Villar (25 July 1923 – 3 July 2020) was a Brazilian actor. He became internationally known for his performance as Zé do Burro in Anselmo Duarte's '' O Pagador de Promessas'', the only Brazilian film so far awarded a Palme d'Or at t ...

. It won the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first (and to date the only) film by a Brazilian director to achieve that feat. A year later, it also became the first Brazilian and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

n film nominated for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Plot

Zé do Burro (

) is a landowner from

Nordeste The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises ni ...

. His best friend is a donkey. When his donkey falls terminally ill, Zé promises to a Candomblé orisha, Iansan, that 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 Saint Bárbara Church in Salvador,

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

, where he will offer the cross to the local priest. Upon the recovery of his donkey, Zé leaves on his journey, a distance of 7 ''léguas'' (46 km; 29 miles). The movie begins as Zé, followed by his wife Rosa (

Glória Menezes Nilcedes Soares de Magalhães ( née Guimarães; born 19 October 1934), known professionally as Glória Menezes, is a Brazilian actress. Life and career Glória Menezes was born in Pelotas, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Her real name, Ni ...

), arrives outside the church. 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 Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The sensationalist newspapers transform his promise to give away his land into a " communist" call for

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

(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.

Main cast

as Zé do Burro (Donkey Jack) *

as Rosa, Zé's wife * Dionísio Azevedo as Olavo, the priest * Geraldo Del Rey as Bonitão (Handsome), a pimp *

Norma Bengell Norma Aparecida Almeida Pinto Guimarães d'Áurea Bengell (21 February 1935 – 9 October 2013) was a Brazilian film, stage and television actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. She appeared in several episodes of '' T.H.E. Cat' ...

as Marly, a prostitute *

Othon Bastos Othon José de Almeida Bastos (born 23 May 1933) is a Brazilian actor. He has appeared in 50 films since 1962. Filmography References External links * 1933 births Living people Brazilian male film actors People from Bahia 20th-ce ...

as the Reporter *

Antônio Pitanga Antônio Luiz Sampaio (born June 13, 1939), better known by his stage name Antônio Pitanga, is a Brazilian actor. He became internationally known for playing several roles on films of the Cinema Novo movement in the 1960s. Personal life He was m ...

as Coca, the

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th cent ...

player

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

(nominated)

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

– Anselmo Duarte (won)

Cartagena Film Festival The Cartagena Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias), or FICCI, is a film festival held in Cartagena, Colombia, which focuses mainly on the promotion of Colombian television series, Latin American films and short ...

*Special Jury Prize – Anselmo Duarte (won)

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...

*Golden Gate Award for Best Film – Anselmo Duarte (won) *Golden Gate Award for Best Musical Score – Gabriel Migliori (won)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pagador De Promessas 1962 films 1962 drama films Brazilian drama films Brazilian films based on plays Films directed by Anselmo Duarte Films shot in Salvador, Bahia Palme d'Or winners 1960s Portuguese-language films Brazilian black-and-white films

Plot

Main cast

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links