La promesa

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")