La parole donnée

I love to watch old black and white movies and if you look for the history of foreign films up for an Oskar you find some gems like this movie. Such a real Brazilian movie and especially from Salvador de Bahia, the old capital where the cultural history of Brazil (except for the original people) is present. Colonial white oppression, the corrupt white middle class, the African people with their religious cultures and capoeira, the Catholic Church between them but like always only saving it's own position and then simple campesino who embodies the true values of human kind. In a collusion of them all, feasts, religion and fights occur and turn into a spiritual happening, a cruxifiction in which human dignity prevails. A wonderful movie from times when things seems to be clear.

It's really a shame that this masterpiece is constantly overlooked by All-Time Greatest Lists, even though it won the prestigious Palm d'Or at Cannes.

"The Bicycle Thieves" is frequently cited as the greatest entry into Social Cinema, yet unfortunately the public and the critics seem to forget the sheer beauty that "The Payer of Promises" is. While "Bicycle"'s influence is undeniable, "Payer" goes beyond that.

Honest, multi-layered and amazingly contemporary, this is one of those movies that have admirably stood the test of time - specially if one considers the difficulty it is making Films in Brazil.

Featuring incredibly believable and dramatic performances, a rich, vivid setting and neo-realist technique employed in an elegant and sincere manner, this movie should not be missed. I found impressive how well the film flows - nothing is there gratuitously and the pacing is pitch perfect.

The amazing strength, courage and valor of Brazilian Cinema is a force to be reckoned with, as we take a look at the works of Film Makers such as Peixoto, Duarte, Rocha, Candeias, Bressane, Khouri, Salles and most recently, Meirelles. To list a very short list.

In fact, I can say without fear that it is a better Film than The Bicycle Thieves. It is easily one of the Best Brazilian Films in History - if not one of the Best in Film History. Period.

A shame such an important movie has no poster here on IMDb. I wanted to add the one that is used on Wikipedia, but I would have to pay to do that. Strange. (Edit: it has a poster now.)

If you are critical of religion fanaticism, you must see this movie! It shows what can become of fanatic people, how lack of education plays an important role in fanaticism, the arrogance of the church and the hypocrisy of our society.

Zé do Burro (Joe of the Donkey) has the soul of a child. He is a good guy, but extremely naive. His naivety is shamelessly exploited, and people cruelly distort his good intentions, making an evil person out of him, when all he wanted was to do good.

The movie won the Golden Palm in Cannes and other prizes. It's a classic. Dialogs are a bit theatrical (only if you understand Portuguese), but so they used to be that time. A movie that will get under your skin.

This great film, received the principal prize in Cannes and it is one of the best Brazilian films of all the times. A simple man, whose donkey was sick, gets its cure and he decides like this to pay a promise Saint Barbra, to who attributed the salvation of the animal.

Main representative of the brazilian "Cinema Novo" , the film is based on an exceptional play, and it is a realistic film, very well interpreted and driven, and it shows one on the most dramatic sides of the Brazilian people: the fidelity in paying a promise, cost what to cost!

It is not a surprise that this movie won the golden palm in Cannes. The story of the man that carry a big and heavy cross as a promise for the healing of his donkey is the simpliest and the most beautiful. The poetic way as it is shown became the film an unforgettable classic, with Zé as the protagonist. For sure, technically it is a pre-historic film, the sound quality and editing is really bad, but it even help the audience to focus what really cares. That is not only about poverty, but about humanity. If you liked Central Station, you can't miss.