The only old thing about this movie is its release date. It's very contemporary and universal. O Pagador de Promessas (1962) is based on a play written by Dias Gomes and performed for the first time in 1960.
(About the first scene so not really a spoiler) Zé and his wife, Rosa, left their land, in the country, and went to the city so Zé could pay a promise he made for a saint called Santa Bárbara. He promised to carry a wooden cross all the way to the city and enter Santa Bárbara church with it if his best friend was healed by the saint. (Paying promisses is still common in Brazil ).
I won't say why exactly but the priest doesn't let he enters the church.
It might seem a minor conflict, but it's not and it escalates through the narrative in a chocking way to Zé, Rosa and audience.
Through the obstacles, Gomes criticizes many social institutions and Brazilian society as a whole in a brilliant way, mixing comedy with drama, what was totally brought to light in Anselmo's adaptation.
In this path, the acting is really important and it's fantastic.
Leonardo Villar portrays perfectly Zé certainty and naivety; Glória Menezes thought of everything, from the accent to the way of moving and the confusion Rosa shows; Dionísio Azevedo made a perfect traditional priest and everybody else were great in their respective roles, an awesome cast.
The technical features are amazing, the sets, the costume design, Duarte's shots, Chock Fowle cinematography and Gabriel Migliori scores.
What stands out in the movie is the representation of Brazilian Culture, which is what the film defends, the beautiful mix Brazil is, of European, Indian, African and many other cultures.
(About the first scene so not really a spoiler) Zé and his wife, Rosa, left their land, in the country, and went to the city so Zé could pay a promise he made for a saint called Santa Bárbara. He promised to carry a wooden cross all the way to the city and enter Santa Bárbara church with it if his best friend was healed by the saint. (Paying promisses is still common in Brazil ).
I won't say why exactly but the priest doesn't let he enters the church.
It might seem a minor conflict, but it's not and it escalates through the narrative in a chocking way to Zé, Rosa and audience.
Through the obstacles, Gomes criticizes many social institutions and Brazilian society as a whole in a brilliant way, mixing comedy with drama, what was totally brought to light in Anselmo's adaptation.
In this path, the acting is really important and it's fantastic.
Leonardo Villar portrays perfectly Zé certainty and naivety; Glória Menezes thought of everything, from the accent to the way of moving and the confusion Rosa shows; Dionísio Azevedo made a perfect traditional priest and everybody else were great in their respective roles, an awesome cast.
The technical features are amazing, the sets, the costume design, Duarte's shots, Chock Fowle cinematography and Gabriel Migliori scores.
What stands out in the movie is the representation of Brazilian Culture, which is what the film defends, the beautiful mix Brazil is, of European, Indian, African and many other cultures.