The Brand New Testament

The latest phantasmagoria from Belgian writer-director Jaco Van Dormael (a onetime circus clown) imagines that God (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a slovenly, middle-aged jerk in a bathrobe living in a Brussels high-rise with his downtrodden family. God is a cruel deity who enjoys sitting at his home-office computer and making humanity suffer in ways ranging from major wars to the phone always ringing when people are trying to relax in the tub. Jesus, aka JC (David Murgia), rebelled against cranky Father long ago and is banished, while JC's kid sister Ea (Pili Groyne)—also disgusted with God—goes to Earth to form her own band of disciples, including a one-armed beauty, a would-be serial killer, a sex pervert, and a wealthy matron (played by screen legend Catherine Deneuve), who team up to further subvert God. Despite the subject matter, the tone here is more whimsical than blasphemous, serving up a playful, iconoclastic vibe. An entertaining, oddball foreign fantasy, this is highly recommended. (C. Cassady)