04/02/2003

Portuguese filmmaker João César Monteiro died on 3 February at the age of 64 after a long battle with cancer. Monteiro made a dozen features and as many short films.
Born to a middle-class country family, Monteiro studied filmmaking in London and on his return to Lisbon, directed his first feature in 1972.
He earned a reputation as being one of the all-too-rare inventors of Portuguese cinema, and his individuality did not always make his professional life easy. As a result of its associations with the world famous Disney classic, his sombre version of Blanche Neige (Snow White) - released in 2000 – had the critics baying for his blood and this film became although this eventually became Monteiro’s most famous film.
He will also be remembered for his trilogy featuring his favourite character João de Deus (John of God) : i> Souvenir de la maison jaune (Memories of the Yellow House), La comédie de Dieu (God’s Comedy), winner of the Jury Grand Prix at the 1995 Venice Film Festival and Les noces de Dieu (God’s Wedding) as well as Le dernier plongeon (The Last Dive).
The death of João César Monteiro heralds the passing of one of the most original talents Portuguese cinema has ever seen.