God's Comedy (1996)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Great Film overall

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The Portuguese film A Comédia de Deus was shown in the U.S. with the title, God's Comedy (1995). The movie was written and directed by João César Monteiro, who also stars in the film.This movie carries a respectable IMDb rating of 7.2. When I see a rating this high for a film this bad, I ask myself, "Did they see the same movie I saw?"Here's a film about about an older man who seduces young girls and maintains a pubic hair collection. He gives one young woman a milk bath, then strains the milk to collect the hair. The movie has been described as "an oddball sex comedy." Very oddball, not much comedy. Very sick.

The great master of comic genre Joao Cesar Monteiro has made some of the most outlandish films in the history of Portuguese cinema. Very few people know that films made by him do not have any parallel in World cinema. His films are bold in the sense that they carry very minimal plot weight and rely heavily on the zany moods of its characters. Those who have seen films by the "highly unusual" German director Herbert Achternbusch will easily catch a glimpse of this Portuguese iconoclast's vision. It is true that in this particular film things happen at a slow pace but they do not dampen anyone's spirits. One has to be patient in order to enjoy the richness of dialogs which are absolutely hilarious. They flow effusively from Joao Cesar Monteiro's mouth as like Woody Allen, he has also given many hilarious performances.A very mature, efficient and perfect visual balance is achieved in the final moments of the film as some unexpected events are depicted. If all this sounds interesting to you, please go for Joao Cesar Monteiro box set published by Paulo Branco's which is available in France.

Pretentious, tedious pseudo-art. Probably written as a play and then adapted to a film. Virtually unwatchable, complete waste of time. One "hangs in there" waiting for the film to improve, but it never does. Lots of classical music gives the illusion of quality and high-art, remove the music, and you have a film-school throw-away, the entire thing should have gone unreleased. Lots of pretty young women, but merely a tease/window dressing. SKIP IT! So many good films, so little time...

Every João César Monteiro movie I see drives toward one conclusion: although being, in Portugal, the soul director whose vision of life, lust and decay is comparable to that of Baudelaire, Monteiro lacks the force of will that would make him a Rimbaud. The character João de Deus, central figure of a trilogy of which A COMÉDIA DE DEUS is the first part is none other than João César Monteiro masked as a detached and unsure version of himself. To see and to reflect on the weakest side of idealism.