''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 languag ...

, 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-g ...

written and directed by

Anselmo Duarte Anselmo Duarte Bento (; 21 April 1920 – 7 November 2009) was a Brazilian actor, screenwriter and film director. Early life Duarte was born in Salto, São Paulo on 21 April 1920. He was raised by his mother, alongside his six siblings. ...

, based on the famous

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

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 Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine ...

, 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 the ...

. It won the Palme d'Or at the

1962 Cannes Film Festival The 15th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 23 May 1962. The Palme d'Or went to the ''O Pagador de Promessas'' by Anselmo Duarte. The festival opened with '' Les Amants de Teruel'', directed by Raymond Rouleau. During the Cannes Film Festiv ...

, 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 southe ...

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. His best friend is a

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

. When his donkey falls terminally ill, Zé promises to a

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. T ...

, 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 Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

, 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 Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

" 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 Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

" 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 Dionísio Azevedo, stage name of Taufic Jacob (4 April 1922 – 11 December 1994) was a Brazilian television, theatre, and film actor, director, and writer. Career He started his career as an actor in Rádio Record in 1942. He moved to televi ...

as Olavo, the priest *

Geraldo Del Rey Geraldo Del Rey (29 October 1930 – 25 April 1993) was a Brazilian actor. He appeared in 65 films and television shows between 1950 and 1992. Filmography External links * 1930 births 1993 deaths Brazilian male film actors People ...

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 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 ...

* Palme d'Or – 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 *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