Abraham's Valley (1993)

Ema is a very attractive but innocent girl, so pretty that cars crash in her presence. Young marries Dr. Carlo Paiva, who she is not attracted to, but is her father's friend. They move to ... See full summary »

Director:

Manoel de Oliveira

Writers:

Agustina Bessa-Luís (novel), Manoel de Oliveira (adaptation)

Stars:

Leonor Silveira, Cécile Sanz de Alba, Luís Miguel Cintra

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leonor Silveira	...	Ema Cardeano Paiva
Cécile Sanz de Alba	...	Ema (young)
Luís Miguel Cintra	...	Carlo Paiva
Ruy de Carvalho	...	Paulino Cardeano
Luís Lima Barreto	...	Pedro Luminares
Micheline Larpin	...	Simona
Diogo Dória	...	Fernando Osorio
José Pinto	...	Caires
Filipe Cochofel	...	Fortunato
João Perry	...	Pedro Dossem
Glória de Matos	...	Maria do Loreto
António Reis	...	Semblano
Isabel Ruth	...	Ritinha
Dina Treno	...	Branca
Dalila Carmo	...	Marina (as Dalila Carmo e Sousa)

Storyline

Ema is a very attractive but innocent girl, so pretty that cars crash in her presence. Young marries Dr. Carlo Paiva, who she is not attracted to, but is her father's friend. They move to the Valley of Abraham. Carlo loves her, but decides to sleep in a separate room, to avoid waking Ema when he has to return late at night. With time she begins to feel unhappy about her marriage so, with all the freedom she has, she takes a lover.

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Plot Keywords:

voice over narration | rose | femme fatale | doctor | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France Portugal Switzerland

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

1 September 1993 (France)

Also Known As:

Valley of Abraham

Filming Locations:

Peso da Regua, Portugal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Madragoa Filmes, Gemini Films, Light Night

Technical Specs

Runtime:

187 min 203 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in The Strange Case of Angelica (2010)

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Soundtracks

Clair de Lune
Music by Claude Debussy
Performed by Nuno Vieira de Almeida (piano)

User Reviews

A Portuguese modern Madame Bovary

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.