Abraham's Valley

Summary

Abraham's Valley (Portuguese: Vale Abraão) is a 1993 Portuguese drama film directed by Manoel de Oliveira, based on a novel by Agustina Bessa-Luís, and partially inspired by Gustave Flaubert's 1857 novel Madame Bovary.[2][3] The film was selected as the Portuguese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[4][5]

Abraham's Valley
Vale Abraão
Directed byManoel de Oliveira
Written byManoel de Oliveira (adapted from a novel by Agustina Bessa-Luís)
Produced byPaulo Branco
Narrated byMário Barroso
CinematographyMário Barroso
Edited byManoel de Oliveira
Valérie Loiseleux
Release date
  • 15 October 1993 (1993-10-15)
Running time
187 minutes
203 minutes (director's cut)[1]
CountriesFrance
Portugal
Switzerland
LanguagePortuguese

Production edit

Abraham's Valley was filmed in 1.66:1 on 35 mm film.[1]

Plot edit

Set in mid-20th century Portugal, in the vicinity of Lamego, Ema is a beautiful young girl who is married off to Carlos, an older doctor and friend of her father's. Dissatisfied, she takes several lovers.[6][7]

Cast edit

Reception edit

It won the Critics Award at the 1993 São Paulo International Film Festival and the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the 1993 Tokyo International Film Festival.[8] It will be screened at the upcoming 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Abraham's Valley (1993) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  2. ^ Canby, Vincent (October 5, 1993). "Review/Film Festival; Following Flaubert, An Eminent Director Finds a Fresh Ema". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ^ Andrew, Geoff (June 1, 2001). Film: The Critics' Choice : 150 Masterpieces of World Cinema Selected and Defined by the Experts. Aurum Press. ISBN 9781854107985 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  5. ^ Frook, John Evan (30 November 1993). "Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  6. ^ Bruhn, Jorgen (11 July 2013). Adaptation Studies. A&C Black. ISBN 9781441192660.
  7. ^ "Abraham's Valley (1993)" – via letterboxd.com.
  8. ^ Craddock, James M.; Gale (Firm), Thomson (June 1, 2008). The Video Source Book: A Guide to Programs Currently Available on Video in the Areas Of: Movies/entertainment, General Interest/education, Sports/recreation, Fine Arts, Health/science, Business/industry, Children/juvenile, how To/instruction. Thomson Gale. ISBN 9781414401003 – via Google Books.

External links edit

  • Abraham's Valley at IMDb  
  • Vale Abraão at amordeperdicao.pt (in Portuguese).