The Brand New Testament

I've just seen the film at the "avant-première" here in Paris. I really wanted to like it as I have great respect for everybody involved and I really loved the premise. First off, the actors are great, hats off to the younger cast. They held their ground until the last scene, but that loss of believability has much more to do with the script and directing as the ending felt artificial and rushed. Now, the beginning is good but what follows, not so much. The main character is underdeveloped, thus her journey at some point becomes repetitive and even though it is visually interesting, story-wise it is boring-ish. Speaking of visuals, the fact that it reminded me of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelié actually bothered me because it made everything sound out of tune - it was both too similar to be original and too different to be a good copy. There are some great ideas and good laughs, but all in all it could have been much much better. What's worse, it deserved to be.

I saw Jaco Van Dormael's Toto le Heros 30 years ago, thought it was brilliant, and then inexplicably never say any of Van Dormael's movies until just now, when I watched the absolutely wonderful Brand New Testament.

This crazy movie features a sadistic God who created people to make them miserable and spends all his time coming up with rules to make life worse. He lives in Brussels with a cowed wife and a young, antagonistic daughter. The latter, named Ea, decides to continue her brother Jesus' good works by going to Earth and gathering a few disciples.

I loved this movie from the first scenes of a naked, weirdly censored Adam wandering through a deserted, modern-day Brussels. The movie is crazily imaginative, as Ea cultivates a succession of oddballs, changing their lives in strange ways. The movie tackles intriguing philosophical questions like, how would we live life if we new the date we would die, while simultaneously hitting fantastical elements like exploring a romance between a woman and a great ape.

When I read reviews I was really shocked so many people didn't care for it, or thought it was just alright, but I admit this is very different so I guess that makes sense. For me, this is exactly the kind of movie I enjoy, and between this and Toto I've realized that I must seek out everything by Dormael immediately (there's surprisingly little).

Highly recommended to those who appreciate something that's funny and smart and original and out there.

This takes many things that people question about reality and turn them into comedy (bread falling always on the side that has something on it instead of the other side amongst other things). The beginning really has some drive to it and it is overall a fun movie to watch. It does take its time though, especially when it comes to "choosing" people and giving us their back-story.

The acting is good, though some of the themes will rather annoy than offend people. Whether they are atheist or religious won't matter, if you don't think it's funny. And while it's provocative, it's also sort of "respectful" in a way. Still the basic idea alone almost warrants the running time and the viewing itself.

This movie evokes the mythological dream-state that movies like Amélie, Big Fish and the Fifth Element represent as well. It has many layers of meaning and holds a great tension between desperation and hope, comedy and drama. It quotes other masterpieces and in doing so, adds value. It is a typical European movie, like Amélie and the Fifth Element are. It is intellectual, cynical and absurdest in a way that can easily be understood as blasphemy, irrationality or confrontational. In Amsterdam the audience applauded after the screening and I will see this movie many times, just to be able to switch between awe and analysis. The actors are well casted. Benoît Poelvoorde has a field day as the narrow- minded, unhappy patriarchal god, the revolting daughter by Pili Groyne is of heart warming simplicity and Catherine Deneuve gives a powerful and naughty rendition of Belle and the Beast. Highly recommended if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and be an enchanted child again..

Le tout nouveau testament (LTNT) is Jaco Van Dormael's first new big film since the brilliant Mr. Nobody. For this he returns to his Belgian roots and makes a film about God, a grumpy, abusive middle-aged guy who lives in Brussels with his daughter and submissive wife. His daughter gets fed up and escapes to the real world. LTNT mixes self-depricating humor with drama in a visually pleasing film. The shots composition sometimes reminded me a bit of Wes Anderson's films (the dead-on shots with the character in the middle). The film is rather uplifting and lighthearted and does try to be entertainment mostly but it's not as deep or dramatic as aforementioned Mr. Nobody. Still a very good watch with great acting that should please almost anybody.