O pagador de Promessas (1962)

O Pagador de Promessas (Portuguese for Keeper of Promises) is a 1962 Brazilian drama film directed by Anselmo Duarte. Its title translates literally as The Payer of Promises, but the film has been known by several other names in the Anglosphere, such as Keeper of Promises, The Given Word and The Promise.

Duarte, who was also one of the film's producers, adapted the screenplay himself from the famous stage play written by Dias Gomes. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first (and only, to date) Brazilian film to achieve such a feat. A year later, it also became the first Brazilian and South American film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

A peasant farmer makes a vow to carry a cross into the local church if his injured donkey is cured. Sure enough, the miracle happens, and the man gives away his land and sets out with a heavy wooden cross to walk the ten miles to his church. But once there, he is locked out – it is past closing time. While he and his wife wait for the church to open again, everything starts to go wrong. Before much time has gone by, the peasant's mission has turned into a media circus, misinterpreted by everyone, including the priest.