A nice movie with a real visual identity which unfortunately doesn’t entirely match with expectations created by a crazy pitch. A comedy drama with good supporting roles and a disappointing Benoit Poelvoorde. Too bad
God is an avid smoker. God drinks a lot. God is from Belgium. This is the starting point of the new movie by Jaco Van Dormael, also behind the public success “The Eighth Day” and the misunderstood & less famous “Mr. Nobody”.
God is impersonated by Benoit Poelvoorde. He is depressed, struggling with his life and constantly shouting at his wife and his daughter, Ea (Jesus’ sister, who died, a long long time ago). He’s been building humanity from the dark room of a Bruxels apartment, using only a old school computer, which is closer to an Atari than a Macbook pro. His only pleasure is creating a living hell for his subordinates (such as Murphy’s law, here illustrated by a piece of bread always falling on the buttered side)
The main character is not god, as suggested by the movie poster, but Ea, his daughter, whose sole goal is to escape from this celestial prison to write a brand new testament.
The movie benefits from a real visual identity, almost poetic, which somewhat ressembles “Amelie” by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. A intense amount of work has been put into each shot whether it’d be on the angles taken by the camera, the visual effects or the lights used. There is constantly something interesting to analyze rendered easy by the fluidity of the cinematography.
And good God (pun intended), because aside from this, the movie fails both on rhythm and scenario which takes the path of repetitive linearity. Ea is after 6 new apostles, lost souls which do not expect much from their lives. The construction is simple: flashback to introduce the apostle, miracle, move to new apostle, restart. Two apostles are worth the effort: Romain Gelin, a touching 11 years old, who struggles with his youth and Catherine Deneuve who has become estranged to her husband and finds love in a new, unusual, form.
Benoit Poelvoorde is the main disappointment both useless as a character and an unwanted addition to the scenes he shares with others. He is nonetheless the inspiration for the movie, probably after a night of heavy drinking with his friend Van Dormael. While I’ve found him wonderful ever since his debut in “Man bites Dog”, he makes me unconfortable throughout the movie. The character is supposed to be alcoholic, violent and unpleasant in every way but I couldn’t shake the queasy impression that I was witnessing the supposed real Poelvoorde, the one he claims to be once the cameras stop rolling. I would have preferred to see the actor which has surprised and amused me countless times, from the one-liner comedian to the perfectly pitched and modest role in “Romantics Anonymous”. Where can I file my complaint?
On the dialogue side, expectations are met. We fluctuate from the absolutely blunt, to the absurd, with some episodes of pure poetry which could have emanated from another Belgian movie, “Dikkenek”. Unfortunately, the scenario fails to translate into the nutty comedy we were waiting for.
Because this movie is not comedy, or a rather dramatic one. It is filled with a touching melancholy emanating from the secondary roles but without ever becoming pathetic aside from the inherent message of living in the moment or getting over ones hang ups. But this light sweet touch can feel good as long as you don’t overdo it. And believe me, you’ll still have a room for a Belgian waffle once your done.
Jaco Van Dormael envisions creation in seven days which doesn’t match his “Huitieme Jour”. But for the cinematography and Catherine Deneuve, it might be worth a quick look. Or rather a glimpse.
[sixthtype_review post_id=”20554″]
image source: Le Pacte
