''As Bodas de Deus'' (literal English title: ''The Spousals of God'') is a 1999 Portuguese

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

João César Monteiro João César Monteiro Santos (2 February 1939, in Figueira da Foz – 3 February 2003, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese film director, actor, writer and film critic. Life and career João César Monteiro was born into a family with anti-clerical ...

. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1999 Cannes Film Festival The 52nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker, actor and author David Cronenberg was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the French–Belgian film ''Rosetta'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The festiv ...

Cast

Rita Durão Rita Durão (born 21 January 1976 in Lisbon) is a Portuguese actress. She has appeared in more than thirty films since 1996. Selected filmography Awards *Shooting Stars Award The Shooting Stars Awards are presented annually by the pan-Europea ...

- Joana de Deus *

- João de Deus * Joana Azevedo - Elena Gombrowicz * José Airosa - Omar Raschid * Manuela de Freitas - Sister Bernarda *

Luís Miguel Cintra Luís Miguel Valle Cintra (born 29 April 1949) is a Portuguese actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films since 1970. In 1973 Cintra founded the Teatro da Cornucópia with Jorge Silva Melo. Selected filmography * ''A Ilha dos Amores'' (1982) ...

- God's Messenger * Ana Galvão - Leonor (as Ana Velazquez) * José Mora Ramos - Inspector Pantaleão * Fernando Mora Ramos - Psychiatrist * Fernando Heitor - Butler Vasconcelos * João Listz - Sparafucile *

Jean Douchet Jean Douchet (; 19 January 1929 – 22 November 2019) was a French film director, historian, film critic and teacher who began his career in the early 1950s at ''Gazette du Cinéma'' and ''Cahiers du cinéma'' with members of the future French N ...

- Bardamu * Filipa Araújo - Celestina * Sofia Marques - Nun * Teresa Negrão - Inês * Paulo Miranda - Agostinho

Production

Development

João César Monteiro, in 1995, planned to shoot "The Comedy of God" and "The Wedding of God" as one film, in two parts, which he titled "Theology of God". The first would take place in Lisbon, as would happen, and the second in Paris, as would never happen. The production constraints in Paris between 1996 and 1997 were such that César Monteiro abandoned these plans and considered that "Theology of God" would remain incomplete. The director went ahead with another project, Le Basin de J.W., filmed between May and June 1997. The terrible reception reserved for that film, the "disorientation" the director said he experienced during and after Le Bassin, the impossibility of resuming in Paris the shooting of "The Wedding of God", led him to reconsider the script for "The Wedding of God". This feature film is a Luso-French production, by Madragoa Filmes, RTP and Gemini Films. It closes the trilogy focused on the character of João de Deus, the protagonist, embodied in a poor devilish human good, with repeated autobiographical references, in a sarcastic and moody style. The intended result is to draw a caricature of someone less virtuous than vicious, author and actor of unqualified comedies in a hypocritical world, with abundant literary, artistic, and philosophical references. The film is dedicated to César Monteiro's wife, Margarita Gil, a director who collaborated with her husband on his works.

References

External links

* 1999 films 1999 comedy films 1990s Portuguese-language films Films directed by João César Monteiro Films produced by Paulo Branco Portuguese comedy films {{1990s-comedy-film-stub