Manoel de Oliveira, who lived until 106, was the world's oldest active filmmaker. He was the only working director to have made his debut in the silent era. The Jesuit educated former racing driver enjoyed the fast lane as a young man, but his cinematic style is characterised by silences and slow camera movements. The experience of watching a film by Oliveira is rather like entering a medieval church: suddenly removed from the rush of the city, we are confronted by echoing silences, visual tableaux and enigmatic icons. This atmosphere is typified by Oliveira's recent work Palavra e Utopia (Word and Utopia, 2000), based on the life of 16th century preacher Padre Antonio Vieira.
Oliveira has always divided opinions, even within the Portuguese intelligentsia. His 1931 debut, the silent documentary Douro Faina Fluvial, was greeted with stamping of feet by outraged Portuguese critics but praised by commentators abroad. Oliveira's first feature film Aniki-Bobo (1942), met with a similar reaction, but the magical tale of a group of poor children in Oporto is now considered one of his finest works.
Oliveira was unable to direct another film until the 1960's, mainly because of the Salazarist ambivalence towards cinema. He directed his third feature film, O Passado e o Presente (The Past and the Present, 1972) at the age of 63. For many directors of that age, this very 'theatrical' piece of film making would have been their concluding work, but for Oliveira it was just the beginning. With the 1974 Revolution, he was elevated to the status of unofficial standard-bearer of Portuguese cinema and was 'discovered' internationally (by French and Italian critics) through the 1979 film Amor de Perdicao (Doomed Love).
In the 1990's, Oliveira's critical renown has enabled him to work with some of the world's finest actors. In O Converto (The Convert). 1995) John Malkovich, Catherine Deneuve and Luis Miguel Cintra take part in a strange ethereal exploration of the writings of the devil, set against the luscious vegetation and medieval surroundings of the Convert de Arrabida. In Viagem ao Principo do Mondo (Journey to the Beginning of the World. 1997) Marcello Mastroianni performed his last film role, portraying Oliveira as an ageing film director.
In 2001, Oliveira was directing another feature film, Vou Para Casa (I'm Going Home), and his last feature, Gebo and the Shadow (2012), starring Michael Lonsdale and Jeanne Moreau, was a variation on the parable of the prodigal son. Subsequently he was reported to be in pre-production for Church of the Devil, an adaptation of a novel by the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis.
Oliveira was awarded the Order of St. James of the Sword by the president of Portugal and in addition to awards for individual films, was awarded two career Golden Lions at Venice (1985 and 2004), and a Golden Palm at Cannes for a lifetime's achievement in 2008.
