Everyone person has moments where they think about their existence. Why are we here, what is our purpose, is there really free will and what will happen after our death? These are all philosophical thoughts, question you can talk very long about, but which we all won’t be able to get a definite answer to. They are the secrets of life, that mysterious thing we can’t grab, no matter how much we would like to be able to. But what would the world look like when you would know how long you would still have to live? Would you make different choices if you knew that you wouldn’t be around in two years? It is one of the few subjects in Le Tout Nouveau Testament.
The main character of this movie isn’t the son of God, but his young daughter who actually lives in Brussels. This movie paints God as a grumpy men who, after having created the world, does everything in his ability to make life as horrible as possible. Behind his computer he keeps making up new rules to make life difficult for people. His daughter has had it with his behaviour and decides to leave the house to get into the real world for the first time. She does this after having sneakily used her father’s computer to publish the dates when they will die. She locks the computer to make sure her father can’t use it anymore and heads into Brussels. When her father finds out he decides to follow her and he will have to face the reality of his own creation.
Le Tout Noveau Testament is the newest film made by director Jaco van Dormael, who previously was responsible for one of my all time favourite movies, Mr. Nobody. Enough reason for me to check out this movie as well. The story, which he wrote himself, consists of several chapters in which various character are the focus and who are asked by the daughter if they want to become her disciples.
It is a movie which isn’t afraid to make jokes about God and faith and this might upset some viewers. I didn’t have any issues with that. It was a gripping story in which the various protagonists all had their own strange character traits. There is an old woman who falls in love with a gorilla, a sex addict who can’t seem to find the right person for him after an experience from his childhood, a woman with a prostheses who makes every man’s heart beat faster and a couple of others. They are all characters with an imperfection who are helped by the girl. Van Dormael succeeds in making this world, no matter how strange, believable. Every time I couldn’t wait to find out who the next person would be and how it eventually would all come together. This isn’t a movie everyone will be able to appreciate, but if you feel adventurous and want something different then this one is worth trying.
