The Belgian film, The Brand New Testament, puts the “Q” in quirky. I love dark humor and unconventional films, but my husband, Bruce, does not. However, by the movie’s end, we agreed that this movie was a wild ride that we both enjoyed. (A miracle.)

            Here’s the set-up: God is a mean-spirited, grungy, bathrobe-wearing old guy who sits at a computer in bleak apartment in Brussels, wreaking havoc on mankind. His actions range from petty annoyances, like making sure toast always falls on the jelly side, to devasting events (think heart failure, assassinations, weather disasters.)

            This grumpy God shares his non-descript apartment with his timid wife, his son, JC, a sometimes-animated statue who sits on a shelf, and his feisty ten-year-old daughter, Ea, who is the hero of this tale.

            Ea routinely tangles with her cruel father. One day she sneaks into the computer room and discovers how he intentionally causes great suffering for all of humanity. When she confronts him about his actions, he goes after her with a belt. Ea escapes and asks her brother, JC, for advice. He tells her to find six additional apostles and to write a brand new testament. Ea randomly chooses the names of the six apostles from her father’s data base. Then, she sends a text to the cellphones of all the people on earth that includes a countdown to each person’s specific time of death. After that, Ea finds a brilliantly inventive way to escape from the apartment. Then she roams the streets of Brussels looking for the specific apostles, all of whom seem like people who have just wandered out of a Fellini film. I’m not going to tell you any more of the plot except that it’s bizarre and in its own circuitous way, it works.

            The nuanced acting in this film is a tribute to Jaco Van Dormael’s directing skills. The actors say and do the weirdest things without blinking an eye. Bruce and I especially loved Ea, the ten-year-old child who made the world a better place by marching around Brussels giving people truly insane advice. The only actor we recognized was Catherine Deneuve, playing the fifth apostle. Her choice of a romantic partner will astonish you.

            The humor is both understated and absurd, my favorite kind. The film was a Golden Globe nominee and was shortlisted in the Best Foreign Film category at the 88^th Academy Awards.

            Bruce and I liked The Brand New Testament. If you watch it, you may not feel the same way. This movie is not for everyone. My mother would have hated it. You may think the movie is heretical and offensive. I would disagree. However, I don’t want to say why, because saying so would reveal too much of the plot. If you decide to watch the movie and want to discuss it, shoot me a message. That’s all for now.

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Interested in other quirky movies? Check out:

NINE DAYS

DADDIO

GHOSTLIGHT