The Brand New Testament

God exists. He lives in Brussels. And he's a pretty insufferable moron.

Le tout nouveau testament
Belgium 2015
  • Czech
115 min.
Accessible
  • This film is available until 23. 2. 2025 in these territories: Czechia, Slovakia.
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About

And on the first day he created Brussels. All at once, the grey city comes to life with giraffes and ostriches, but the real fun begins when God introduces a somewhat shabby-looking Adam – perhaps because Van Dormael’s God is no athlete or thinker: on the contrary, he looks a bit like a caricature of a down-and-out barfly. He sits at his computer in a dirty undershirt, smoking and drinking and taking perverse pleasure in human suffering. One day, however, his ten-year-old daughter runs out of patience and uses daddy’s computer to send every mortal his or her day of death. She then flees the family nest in order to find six new apostles. The Brand New Testament is a wellspring of Van Dormael’s typical fantastic ideas and other hallmarks: a story told from a child’s perspec­tive, the tangible presence of death, and the conflict between fate and free will. Van Dormael combines these factors with precision camerawork to create a fresh cinematic spectacle.

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Credits
Director: Jaco van Dormael
Screenplay: Jaco Van Dormael, Thomas Gunzig
Cinematography: Christophe Beaucarne
Music: An Pierlé
Sound: Loic Collignon, Dominique Warnier, François Dumont
Editing: Hervé de Luze
Production Design: Sylvie Olivé
Producer: Jaco Van Dormael, Iman Khatibzadeh
Costumes: Caroline Koener
Cast: Pili Groyne, Benoît Poelvoorde, Catherine Deneuve, François Damiens, Yolande Moreau, Laura Verlinden, Serge Larivière, Didier De Neck, Marco Lorenzini, Romain Gelin
Awards

European Film Awards

2015 – Sylvie Olivé (European Production Designer)

Sitges Film Festival

2015 – Pili Groyne (Best Actress)

Sitges Film Festival

2015 – Jaco Van Dormael (Silver Méliès: Best Feature)

Links
  • This film is available until 23. 2. 2025 in these territories: Czechia, Slovakia.