In 1962, O Pagador de Promessas, (lit. The Keeper of Promises; also known as The Given Word), an adaptation of Dias Gomes‘ novel of the same name, screened at the 15th Cannes Film Festival. Adapted for the screen and directed by Anselmo Duarte, the film won the Palme d’Or, becoming the first (and as of 2026) only Brazilian film to win this honor, as well as being the first film from the Southern Hemisphere to gain this distinction. At the 35th Academy Awards ceremony, it was the first Brazilian and South American film to get a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film (now called Best International Feature Film).

And yet, outside of Brazil, it remains largely unknown and forgotten. It’s a damn shame, because the film is a hilarious, still provocative look at the thorniness of faith, the hypocrisy of organized religion, and the cynicism of media sensationalism.

The film follows Zé de Burro (Leonardo Villar), a simple farmer from rural Bahia, who makes a promise to carry a cross to the state capital, Salvador, along with giving away his land, if his terminally ill donkey (the “burro” in his name) is healed. His wife Rosa (Glória Menezes) begrudgingly accompanies him and makes it no secret she would rather have stayed at home. When he finally reaches the Santa Barbara Church, the Catholic priest Olavo (Dionísio Azevedo) refuses Zé’s cross, because Zé made his promise to Ọya, a Candomblé orixá. As Zé refuses to leave, Rosa grows increasing exasperated at her husband’s simple and single-minded devotion to stay. Olavo and the Catholic priest grow increasingly nervous of Zé’s growing public support, and the local papers find a cause célèbre when it is revealed Zé gave away his land and spin his tale of one concerning “communist” land reform (which would later play a huge part in the fear-mongering that contributed to the 1964 coup d’état and the resulting military dictatorship). Zé keeps his faith as the situation spirals out into greater absurdity. 

At its best, O Pagador de Promessas has an acidic edge reminiscent of Billy Wilder’s masterpieces. So many films about faith, especially these days, are glorified Chick tracts, presenting religion without any nuance, curiosity, or sly humor. O Pagador de Promessas illustrates the darkly humorous intersection of faith, religion, and the press, but it never loses sight of how faith drives people to make sincere choices, even if they appear baffling to everyone else. It’s a classic of Brazilian cinema (in 2015, Abraccine [the Brazilian Film Critic’s Association] ranked it in 9th place for the Top 100 Brazilian films), but more than that, it’s a brilliant black comedy that everyone should see….

Remember when I said that the film was largely unknown outside of Brazil? While that is true (and it’s a disgrace it has not yet been given a luxurious release by the Criterion Collection), YouTube can be quite a generous site. Below is the film, in good visual quality, with English subtitles. 

Have a great day, afternoon, evening, ‘cados!