Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Jaco Van Dormael
Cast
Pili Groyne,
Benoît Poelvoorde,
Yolande Moreau,
Catherine Deneuve,
François Damiens,
Serge Larivière
Genre
Drama,
Comedy,
Fantasy
God lives in Brussels. On earth though, God is a coward, with pathetical morals and being odious with his family. His daughter, Ea, is bored at home and can't stand being locked up in a small apartment in ordinary Brussels, until the day she decides to revolt against her dad...
Weird, irreverent, and absurdly funny, this movie is one of my favorite indie films. I love how it subverts the concept of religion in a way that's both fantastical and incredibly grounding. The intersecting stories of each of its side characters feels inexplicably human and real, despite the film's outlandish premise. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cringe... and you just might walk away feeling a little lighter.
The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
It is irresistibly laugh-out-loud and feel-good.
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
For sheer inventiveness of story, language, visuals and theme, The Brand New Testament is, quite nearly, a divine comedy.
The Film Stage
What we have is ultimately a welcome satire for the modern age that’s no less funny than it is intelligent.
The Playlist by Jessica Kiang
Lovely to look at, charmingly played throughout, and with a sense of fun that is more playful than subversive, The Brand New Testament is a bouncy treat: not so much heresy as whimsy, with a smooth matte finish and a mischievous grin.
The Film Stage by Raffi Asdourian
What we have is ultimately a welcome satire for the modern age that’s no less funny than it is intelligent.
Screen Daily by Charles Gant
With the consistently playful, often delightful and frequently funny God fantasy The Brand New Testament, the Belgian auteur delivers his most substantially enjoyable film since 1991’s Toto The Hero.
Time Out London by Cath Clarke
This is a film with a big heart and an even bigger imagination.
Screen International by Charles Gant
With the consistently playful, often delightful and frequently funny God fantasy The Brand New Testament, the Belgian auteur delivers his most substantially enjoyable film since 1991’s Toto The Hero.
The Guardian by Jordan Hoffman
The Brand New Testament is a peppy, original and (importantly) very sweet story.
Los Angeles Times by Justin Chang
Again and again, Van Dormael delights in finding romantic solutions to existential problems, in forging the kinds of topsy-turvy emotional connections between his characters that enable them to overcome their natural impulses toward suspicion, hostility and even violence.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
Most of the humor is too lighthearted to offend all but the most reverent believers, and the movie’s inventiveness rarely flags.
Total Film by Kevin Harley
Even the devout, surely, will warm to Dormael's alt-gospel: one of compassion, oddball fish gags and cheerier skylines.
Variety by Peter Debruge
While the ultra-clever first act stockpiles sufficient admiration from audiences to sustain the film, the bulk of The Brand New Testament concerns itself with Van Dormael’s most persistent preoccupation: the tug-of-war between fate and free will.
CineVue by Ben Nicholson
Striking a balance between the dark and combative religious humour and its more saccharine elements proves difficult.
Village Voice
Testament is full of bad jokes (like a man repeatedly throwing himself from great heights to prove he won't die) and, in spite of Groyne's grave, determined presence as Ea, is borderline offensive.
Slant Magazine by Diego Semerene
At first, the film’s dark humor is amusing, only for it to wear off once an actual plot kicks into motion.
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