La promesa (2004)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

After killing her abusive and unfaithful husband, the religious and schizophrenic housewife Gregoria (Carmen Maura) leaves Madrid and travels to Galicia to visit a church where a stranger told her that everyone should go, dead or alive. When Gregoria arrives, she saves the life of the boy Daniel (Santiago Barón) and his mother Dorita (Ana Fernández) in gratitude invites her to have lunch at her house. Gregoria changes her name to Celia and accepts to work as nanny and chambermaid for Dorita and her dysfunctional husband Leandro (Evaristo Calvo). The violent behavior of Leandro triggers an insanity process in the delusional Celia, who is haunted by demons and ghosts while trying to protect Daniel from the evilness of his parents."La Promesa" is a dark tale of insanity and religiosity totally supported by the stunning performance of Carmen Maura. This low budget but stylish movie is surrealistic, and uses the religious fanaticism of an ordinary frustrated woman to build a suspenseful and credible story, blurring reality and insanity of the lead character to make the viewer intrigued about what is really happening. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "A Promessa" ("The Promise")

The amazing Carmen Maura plays a deeply religious maruja who gets fed up with her abusive husband and skips town after witnessing a bizarre random accident. Fate leads her to a small town and a position as a nanny for a dysfunctional couple and their strange little boy. Everything is perfect in her new life until she starts having disagreements with the patriarch and she starts to realize that there is something wrong in the house. Or perhaps she is descending into madness, set off by the clashing of her devout Catholicism and newfound liberation? This film is beautifully photographed and features lovely Spanish Gothic architecture. It never goes into full on horror like it seems to want so badly to do, but it's still a compelling film that is effective on several levels.

As the story opens, we are introduced to Gregoria, an unhappily married woman of a certain age, living with her husband in Madrid. We get clues as to why Gregoria, who appears to be a religious woman, deals with what is happening in her life at the market where we see her shopping, staring intently at the fish, that in her mind, begin to move, as though in response to what she is thinking. As she is about to get to her apartment, a painter, falls in front of her when the ropes that held him up break. This man tells Gregoria he is from a town in Galicia where there is a miraculous sanctuary before he collapses right before her eyes. Gregoria decides to deal with her husband in the only way she knows how.Gregoria decides to abandon her abusive husband and embarks on a trip up north. She has no apparent plans, but fate gets in her way when she rescues a young boy from being run over by a car. The mother of the boy, Dorita is grateful, and invites Gregoria home for tea. It's clear the boy has taken a liking to Gregoria, who, when asked by Dorita, what is her name, she answers, Celia. As fate would have it, Dorita is looking for a person to take care of Daniel, her son. The only objection to hiring Celia comes from the father of the boy, Roberto, who wants references that the woman can't produce.The pious Celia is drawn toward the famous sanctuary, where she witnesses a wooden cross crash as she is praying. Daniel clearly loves Celia, but her relationship with Roberto, his father, leaves a lot to be desired. We realize something is wrong with Celia when things turn ugly in the house. It's clear Roberto and Dorita are having difficulties and she wants a vacation away from it all to help solve their marital problems. That is the state of affairs when Celia decides to take care of things as she knows she is being dismissed from her employment.Director Hector Carre, who co-wrote the screen play, sets his story in a way that we perceive what Celia is fighting for her rights to stay with Daniel, at all costs, but in reality, it's all in Celia's sick mind where all these things are happening. The final scene in the film clearly shows Celia's liberation as she returns home.Carmen Maura, who plays Gregoria/Celia, is the best reason for watching this Gothic tale that takes place in Galicia. Ms. Maura captures all the nuances of her character and her inter action with young Santiago Baron, who is seen as Daniel, is delightful. Ana Fernandez, appears as Dorita and makes a valuable contribution. She is an actress who should be seen more often.This is a strange horror story in which its director, Hector Carre, shows a knack for telling it with great style.

Some of the most intellectually terrifying films, stories that are imbued with religious symbolism, mysticism, and surrealism, are products of Spanish filmmakers and LA PROMESA is no exception. Writer/Director Héctor Carré finds just the right amount of credibility in the prelude to his psychological thriller to make the following strange events teeter on that thin line of delusion and reality.Gregoria (the redoubtable Carmen Maura) is a fragile woman, married to an abusive, unfaithful husband Roberto (Juan Francisco Margallo) and is confined to her house by order of her husband who taunts her for being barren. She is fanatically religious, obsessive compulsive, and walking closely to the abyss of insanity. Strange visions and incidents happen: in one instance she witness the fall of a house painter who despite a fracture of the skull tells Gregoria of his perfect little hometown in Galicia, a story that opens Gregoria's hopes for a better life. How she manages to depart her miserable life for Galicia involves an incident with her husband that for the sake of the viewers needs to remain occult.In Galicia she changes her name to Celia, saves a small boy Daniel (Santiago Barón) from an accident, and because of her courageous act observed by the boy's mother Dorita (Ana Fernández) she is invited to the palatial estate where she ultimately gains employment as a maid and nanny - with some reservations from the boy's father Leandro (Evaristo Calvo) who sees Celia's dark side. Celia and Daniel become devoted to each other and Daniel introduces Celia to the strange 'hauntings' of the house and community and reveals the strained relationship of his parents. Also in the mansion Celia meets the cook Felisa (Luisa Merelas) and gardener Senén (Julio Lago) who watch Celia with suspicion.Daniel leads Celia to a mysterious church where Celia explains the saints, prays, and witnesses bizarre happenings. Always returning to this Gothic church for solace Celia begins observing problems in her new 'home' and gradually her love for Daniel makes her mind bend around ridding the child of his parents, thus making Daniel her own child. Finally her sanity breaks and she is involved in murderous acts that are not what they appear to be. To say more would disrupt the story of how a deranged mind mixes delusions and actions to gain resolution to defaced dreams.As Gregoria/Celia, Carmen Maura again demonstrates the brilliance of her acting career. She makes us love this deranged, pitiful character while maintaining an atmosphere of madness and threat. The entire cast weaves in and out of this maze of reality/delusion and Director Carré manages to keep us confused about what we are watching in an extraordinary stance of the how the dysfunctional mind works. The settings are lovely, and the old church is terrifyingly beautiful with all lighting coming form tall tapers and votives and otherworldly light as captured by cinematographer Juan Carlos Gómez. The musical score by Suso Rey and Manuel Varela enhances the mood of the piece with compositions that could easily stand alone. This is not an easy film to watch, not because of violence (though there is some), but because Carré never lets us know the exact truth of what we are watching: is this all in Celia's broken mind, is it real, is the story really happening, etc? Highly recommended for lovers of Gothic tales. Grady Harp