The Couchpotatoes Being a big fan of Benoit Poelvoorde I had to watch this movie. And even though Poelvoorde isn't really the main character of the story, while he's God, the movie is more than enjoyable to watch. It sometimes made me think about Amélie Poulain, complete different story but with the same easy-to-listen-to narrating voice. Pili Groyne is the narrating voice and also the main character, playing Ea the daughter of God. She did a really good job playing her role of unsatisfied of her father's work, daughter of God. The cast was very well chosen, from people nobody ever heard of to Catherine Deneuve. And also François Damiens, the comedian everybody knows here in France and Belgium, as the man that can drive you completely nutters with his character of François l'Embrouille, mostly known for his short videos on Youtube etc. The shooting itself is by moments sublime, very good altogether. Jaco Van Dormael delivered another good Belgian movie. You can only give him credits for that knowing the tight budget you have when producing a Belgian movie. This time Poelvoorde is not the usual comedian we know, in fact the movie has some funny moments, but it's not really a comedy. It's more a parody on the ridiculousness of religion. And that's for me, being a convinced atheist, only a thing that I can enjoy.

sol- 'Le Tout Nouveau Testament' - also known as 'The Brand New Testament' - Benoît Poelvoorde plays God as rarely depicted on screen in this daring comedy from Belgium. Far from a compassionate deity, Poelvoorde is mischievous, mean-spirited middle aged man who spends all day in a tatty bathrobe, making humankind suffer for his own amusement. This set-up is initially hard to digest due to the slew of unanswered questions that it evokes, but fortunately Pili Groyne, cast as his daughter, soon comes in focus. The plot has Groyne sneak into her father's office and send text messages to everyone stating exactly when they will die, with some great moments in which various people react to the news; Gaspard Pauwels has a hilarious bit part as an internet blogger who repeatedly tries to kill himself to defy his designated death date. The plot also has Pili interview half a dozen would-be apostles in order to write the new testament of the title, something which is sometimes too sentimental for its own good. Then again, as her interviews are cut around scenes of Poelvoorde trying to catch up to her in the outside world, there is still quite a bit of humour to be add. Indeed, the funniest scenes have Poelvoorde undone by all the ridiculous rules he has written for the world and frequently bashed up by his own people who think he is delirious when claiming to be a deity.

lespania I liked this movie because it handles very well a main plot that provoques its audience, by merging it with a naif perspective. It's full of surreal moments that makes the movie look very playful, and it combines comedy and fantasy with a very solid drama. The characters are also very well built -I particularly liked the annoying god-. I like how the plot inquires about the conformism and insanity of society in everyday life, and how they unleash absurd (and still not meaningless) ways of solving each particular problem. It leaves you reflecting with a pleasant sensation. I think for some people it may turn out to be a cheap surrealism at times, but it is not a movie that should be taken very seriously either. Either way, it is very entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

Dr Deena Padayachee Brand New Testament: Durban International Film Festival Belgium: 2015 Review by Dr Deena PadayacheeI think that most of us have wondered about the All Mighty (plural?) that plays with our lives and creates havoc everywhere. I've often thought about those brilliant Germans who created such gorgeous classical music, who tend to be so organised and are so efficient and manufacture such exceptional machinery, yet allowed a Hitler to rule them and eviscerate them.Anyway, this is a delightful, rather human depiction of a 'God' who plays on the computer with people's lives. It is this 'God' that ensures that the phone rings when we are in the shower, that the jam bread tends to fall on the jam side on the floor and so on. :) 'God' is middle aged, has a mouse of a wife, (who is for ever vacuuming), and a little spunky daughter, Ea, who, in true earthling fashion, questions everything. 'God' is a rather grouchy old man who bullies his family and even beats the daughter. 'JC' is the the girl's brother. We all know about his fate. Ea lets the the people of the planet know of their time of demise - via sms, nogaal! Most of the people depicted are white. Imagine exiting this divine abode via a washing machine! 'God' actually gets hungry, and gets ill, eating from rubbish bins! Ea sabotages the computer and escapes - and writes a new testament while recruiting a motley crew of six apostles. They include an abandoned house wife, a sex maniac, a serial killer, a beauty who has lost her arm and so on. There is much that happens in life that one should question, examine and even refute and sometimes lampoon. I am glad that there are human beings still willing to do so, and others who are not offended when some do so.