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      The Promise

      2004 1h 41m Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 30% Audience Score 50+ Ratings When middle-aged Celia (Carmen Maura) is hired by a wealthy couple -- Dorita (Ana Fernández) and Leandro (Evaristo Calvo) -- as nanny to their troubled son, Daniel (Santiago Barón), she seems perfect for the job. Celia's rapport with Daniel impresses Dorita, but Leandro is suspicious about her past and troubled by her increasing obsession with the boy. Soon, the very religious Celia is gripped by paranoia, believing that Leandro intends to kill Dorita and Daniel, and only she can stop him. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Overall a solid Spanish comedy and nice to see Carmen Maura escaped her type-casting and did something completely different. Great performance, and had the dark humor sensibilities of Alex de la Iglesia's work in El Dia de la Bestia and Crimen Ferpecto, along with other Spanish black comedies of the 90's-early 2000's. I guess I might have a weak spot for them (as long as they aren't too dumb)... Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722566"><img src="http://content8.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722566_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a></div></div> <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722575"><img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722575_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a> </div></div> <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722569"><img src="http://content7.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722569_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a></div></div> <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722571"><img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722571_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a></div></div> <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722576"><img src="http://content6.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722576_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a><i>The Promise</i> </div></div> <i>LA PROMISA</i> (2006) AKA The Promise; Spanish language/English subtitles WRITTEN BY: Encarna Alonso DIRECTED BY: Hector Carre FEATURING: Carmen Maura, Santaigo Barón, Ana Fernández, Juan Margallo, and Evaristo Calvo, GENRE: OCCULT, TAGS: mystery, horror PLOT: A devout nanny's religious convictions are tested when a clairvoyant child implores her to murder his father. COMMENTS: Solid performances and Santiago locations compliment this creepy, offbeat occult tale. Gregoria (Maura) is a modest housewife leading a life of quite desperation. Her marriage is suffocating, her husband (Margallo) is an ogre and her spirit is repressed. Her husband's abuse takes its toll as Gregoria seeks refuge in the ecclesiastical. Finding solace in religious fervor, she plunges into the deep end of delusional thinking. Or does she? Taken to episodes of brief catatonia Gregoriia becomes accident prone and paranoid. Every shadow hides a demon and every accident is a sign of manifest evil. Her chosen solution is to pray incessantly. When a bizarre tragedy leads her to a chance encounter with a dying soothsayer, the doomed man implores Gregoria to fulfill a prophecy at a mysterious church in a remote mountain village. Supernatural voices drive Gregoria to murder her husband after which she flees to the strange hamlet. There, on a fog enshrouded mountain estate, she takes a job as caretaker to a telepathic boy named Daniel (Barón), Haunted by voices and fearing that she is losing her mind, Gregoria is drawn into a divine good versus evil enigma. Her snowballing predicament becomes centered around a secret passage, a well that presents a nasty fall hazard, the ghost of her husband, and her young ward's murderous psychic manipulations, But the answer and her fate are inexplicably intertwined. The key to it all lies grounded in the sinister old church that she is destined to visit. The clairvoyant Daniel will use any means necessary to entice her there to fulfill <I>The Promise</I>. <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722541"><img src="http://content7.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722541_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a> </div></div> <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722578"><img src="http://content8.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722578_ori.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a> </div></div> <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722567"><img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722567_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a></div></div> <div style="width:310px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/the-promise-13722577"><img src="http://content7.flixster.com/photo/13/72/25/13722577_ori.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com"></a> </div></div> Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Kind of a combination of THE OMEN & a good thriller. Luv CMaura always. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member es muy buena me encanto el papel de Carmen Maura fue muy bueno Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member The woman in this movie has to be admired for standing up to her abusive husband, but then she turns either crazy or religious -- it's hard to tell which. This movie wasn't great. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member [b]DVD[/b] First Viewing, 1 Carre film seen [img]http://www.afff.nl/siteimages/main/films/LA%20PROMESA.jpg[/img] [i]The Promise[/i] was a little surprise for me. Usually when Megan decides to rent a film from the "fourth row" at Blockbuster, it is usually one of the worst films I have ever seen. Please do not make me recount the misery that was ten minutes of [i]The Smokers[/i]. Megan rented this film for two reasons: 1) she is compelled by the concept of killer maids, and 2) she wanted a new Spanish phrase to be able to recite to me. She loves saying [i]La Mala Education[/i] and [i]El Crimen de Padre Amaro[/i], and now all-Gael Garcia Bernal-aside, she can say [i]La Promesa[/i] over and over and over again. I was expecting a bowl of crap, but what I got was a semi-creepy tale of a crazyish woman. It was nowhere near as compelling as [i]The Eye[/i], but I was not expecting to be as entertained as I was - that is when I was actually awake; I admit I took a small nap during the opening scenes. But I do not blame the film. It was my own fatigue at fault. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis When middle-aged Celia (Carmen Maura) is hired by a wealthy couple -- Dorita (Ana Fernández) and Leandro (Evaristo Calvo) -- as nanny to their troubled son, Daniel (Santiago Barón), she seems perfect for the job. Celia's rapport with Daniel impresses Dorita, but Leandro is suspicious about her past and troubled by her increasing obsession with the boy. Soon, the very religious Celia is gripped by paranoia, believing that Leandro intends to kill Dorita and Daniel, and only she can stop him.
      Director
      Héctor Carré
      Screenwriter
      Héctor Carré, José Antonio Félez
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      Spanish (Spain)
      Runtime
      1h 41m
      Sound Mix
      Dolby Digital