Val Abraham

Well the resemblance of the plot with the Flaubert's novel is very superficial after all. This is much more than a story of bourgeois adultery. It's the story of an intelligent and sensitive young woman brought up in the frame of the society of mid-20th century northern Portugal in an atmosphere of bigotry and social stagnation who marries a man she does not love and whose life has no way out. The plot develops itself in old rural mansions under the eyes of a silent witness, the deaf-and-dumb servant Ritinha who sees everything and understands everything without speaking or intervening by any means but forming with Ema the main character, a strong union of love and mutual understanding. The visual images develop themselves in a slow poetic movement which is Oliveira's favourite. The scenery however, is beautifully located in the Portuguese river Douro one of the most beautiful rivers in the world.

I know this is considered to be Oliveira's masterpiece but it's not even one of his best movies. The plot is dull and drags on forever to the point where the ending is a relief and the acting is just terrible or non-existent. The movie starts, disturbingly, with the story of a young woman who seduces the men to the point where they go crazy. I say disturbingly for two reasons: one is that the woman protagonist is shown as a devilish creature that uses defenceless men and sucks the life out of them, a misogynistic trope that should have been abandoned long ago. The other is that the woman is as young as 14 when the story starts. To be clear, the movie sexualizes a 14 year old girl. If you find that repulsive, as you should, steer away from this movie, because it doesn't get better. The young girl, played atrociously, "seduces" an older man, a doctor, who, years later, ends up marrying her. She then becomes an expressionless, cold woman for the rest of her life (or, at least, that's what the movie shows, even if unintentionally) and cheats on her husband with every single man that crosses her path. This is all framed with images of the Douro Valley in a way that doesn't do justice to that amazing region. It's all dull, predictable, and boring until the end. Having seen most of Oliveira's movies, I have to say that, in my view, not only is this not his masterpiece, it's even one of his worst movies. Avoid, unless you are looking for a sleeping pill.

"Abraham's Valley" may be the most extraordinary achievement of Portuguese cinema which confirms that Manoel de Oliveira is among the world's greatest filmmakers capable of creating an unmistakably personal style and sensibility while depicting the human condition. I agree with the first comment which pointed out that one cannot speak of a direct adaptation of Flaubert's novel, but it should also be mentioned that de Oliveira – comparable to Robert Bresson and his film versions of Dostoyevsky's works – conveys the theme into his very own microcosm, and leaves the source material behind while at the same time maintaining key elements of the narrative and the ambivalence of the main character.

The rigid and formal aestheticism which de Oliveira had been developing throughout his long career doesn't require camera movements, and stands out due to a brilliant sense for composition that actually seems to owe a lot to the staging techniques of early silent cinema as well as the eclectic rigours of C. T. Dreyer and Straub/Huillet. The few times the camera moves it creates an amazing effect on the viewer, as if de Oliveira were re-inventing the effect.

The antique interior decorations and the spellbinding landscape of the Douro valley reshape the overall baroque but vital feel of a film which is constantly guided by an omniscient voice over that funds Flaubert's Emma and the one played by Leonor Silveira. "Abraham Valley" is in my opinion one of the most beautiful and authentic masterpieces of recent decades, but since the critical world doesn't seem to give much credit to Portuguese cinema in general (aside those co-productions which feature international stars) the viewer might be lucky enough to catch this film during a retrospective at a cinematheque.

Dreary, dull exhibition of post-modern amoralism. Not a single interesting, likeable, or unlikeable character from top to bottom. Almost watched the whole thing til I realized I could have listened to The Ramones instead.

For Manoel de Oliveira, what makes a film is not the camera, but everything that happens beyond it. Of course, this applies to all cinema, but in Manoel de Oliveira's case, it is literal, the camera remains still! Vale Abraão unfolds under constant narration, as if we were listening to the reading of an illustrated book in motion. It is a remarkable work in the director's filmography, not only for its significance but also for its unique style.

Personally, I think the bed scenes could have a bit more intensity to raise my score, but this is a Manoel de Oliveira film, and that says it all! Being a feature film that does not shy away from contemplative scenes and extends them to the end without concessions, it may not be the best choice for those who prefer a faster pace and shorter sequences... But it's worth the experience! 😄 I really like it!