The Valley Of Abraham

Veteran Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira transplants the 19th century into the present in THE VALLEY OF ABRAHAM, a loose rendition of Flaubert's classic novel Madame Bovary. This is Oliveira's 13th film, but the first to be distributed to a US audience. Born in 1908, Oliveira is one of the few living directors whose career reaches back to the silent era--his first film, HARD LABOR ON THE RIVER DOURO (1931), was a silent documentary.

The narrative recounts the life of Ema, from young girlhood through adulthood to death. The defining experience of the young Ema (Cecil Sanz de Alba) is the intoxication experienced while standing on the veranda in her w...