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

Accolades and screenings 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 was screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for the film's 40th anniversary.[9]

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.
  9. ^ "La Quinzaine des Cinéastes, du 17 au 26 mai 2023 à Cannes". France tv & vous (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-11.

External links edit