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The Brand New Testament (15)

French / English subtitles

Belgium, France, Luxembourg, 2015, 113 mins, dir. Jaco Van Dormael 

God is not as far away as you might think. In fact this inventive, fantastical black comedy situates him in a drab flat in modern-day Brussels.

Petty and vindictive, this God giggles as he forces toast to land jam-side down and ensures whichever queue his chosen victim is in lasts the longest. He lives with his docile wife and their children, perceptive 10-year-old daughter Ea and son ‘JC’, who together form a plan: they’ll acquire six new disciples and create a brand new testament. Their communications policy? A text message sent to everyone on earth to let them know.

Their random disciples’ stories range from the silly to the genuinely touching; including a young, ill boy who wants to spend his last days alive as a girl.

Flamboyant and defiantly outré, van Dormael’s film is a vastly entertaining religious satire, but one with room for humanity and optimism.

Showing Times

• Mon 16 May: 7.30pm
• Thu 16 May: 8pm

Venue: Exeter Phoenix, Studio 74