The Brazilian film, “keeper of promises”, is a powerful parable of a man, his love of an animal and the meaning of keeping your word. The story is told like a fairy tale except that it ends with martyrdom rather than blissful happiness. Ze de Burro (Leonardo Villar) is a village land owner whose donkey gets hit by a falling tree. Ze receives a blessing for his donkey by the local Brazilian African priest close to his town and gives his word to the cult priest that if his donkey survives he will give his land away to the village peasants and carry a large crucifixion sized cross from his village to the Catholic Saint Barbara church in the large metropolitan city of Salvador. The church and city are 46 kilometers away and Ze promises to carry the cross on his back, like Christ, the entire distance to the church. The movie begins with his arrival in the city accompanied by his wife Rosa (Gloria Menezes). They reach the church in the middle of the night, sleeping outside and below the large stairway leading up to it. Ze stays with the cross and sleeps outside. Rosa finds a sinful way to spend the night at a hotel and on a bed. In the morning the church’s catholic priest (Dionisio Azevedo) refuses to allow Ze to bring the cross into the church because his vow to do so was made to an Orisha (native religion of the African Brazilian Yoruba people) priest. Considering his promise heresy, the Priest will not open the door of his Church for Ze, making it impossible for Ze to fulfill his promise. For his part Ze refuses to accept the Priests decision and stays with his cross on the steps of the Church outside, vowing not to move or eat until the church is opened and allows him to fulfill the promise. Word about his predicament has spread throughout the City and crowds start to gather below the church. The local press creates a legendary tale of sainthood of Ze giving him political motives when there are none. The positive press results in even more people to arrive at the scene. Local vendors take advantage of the situation for profit. Musicians arrive and people start to dance and become festive. All this occurs while the two sides of the conflict stay adamant in their convictions. The circus-like atmosphere created by the situation is a stark contradiction to the pain and suffering felt by the protagonist who is the focus of everyone’s joy. The Press is also interested in building a false pretense to the predicament that is politicized and anti-religious in order to harden the Church’s position and prolong the drama. This fascinating Brazilian film has a lot in common with Billy Wilder’s, “Ace in the Hole” from 1951. Both films have a similar story and message. The idea that Ze’s best friend is a Donkey for whose health drives him into his predicament starts to make more sense when taken within the context of all the cold hearted and selfish people who surrounded him. There are many quirky characters that appear and revolve around the circus created below the church. Two of these characters are the local pimp and prostitute who play a pivotal role in representing sin and temptation. The local reporter, owner of the adjacent café and the Cities Orisha Priest also use the situation for their own self interest. The movies ending is powerful and effectively destroys the fairy tale mood that permeates throughout the movie. This is a sad and beautiful movie that needs to be seen by all lovers of good cinema.
1001 Movies before you die 