Abraham's Valley

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 by	Manoel de Oliveira
Written by	Manoel de Oliveira (adapted from a novel by Agustina Bessa-Luís)
Produced by	Paulo Branco
Narrated by	Mário Barroso
Cinematography	Mário Barroso
Edited by	Manoel de Oliveira Valérie Loiseleux
Release date	15 October 1993 (1993-10-15)
Running time	187 minutes 203 minutes (director's cut)[1]
Countries	France Portugal Switzerland
Language	Portuguese

Production

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

Plot

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

• Leonor Silveira as Ema Cardeano Paiva
• Cécile Sanz de Alba as young Ema
• Luís Miguel Cintra as Carlos Paiva, Ema's husband
• Ruy de Carvalho as Paulino Cardeano, Ema's father

Reception

Accolades and screenings

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

• List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Portuguese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

1. "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

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