“If God exists, I hope he has a good excuse.”
— Woody Allen
Jaco Van Dormael blames Woody Allen for his delightfully impudent new movie Le tout nouveau testament, which premièred as part of Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and opens the Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) on Wednesday.
Allen’s above-quoted line was the starting point for the Belgian filmmaker (whose previous films include Toto le héros and Mr. Nobody) and co-writer Thomas Gunzig to rethink the New Testament by positing a 10-year-old girl as God’s feisty daughter, Ea (Pili Groyne), sister of Jesus Christ (or “J.C.,” as she calls him).
Ea’s dad (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a putz. Tyrannical and dishevelled, he gets his kicks by hiding out on his computer and creating misery for the Earth’s inhabitants via Murphy’s Law-style rules stating things like: If your toast falls on the ground, it will always land face down.
One day he pushes his girl too far, prompting her to send off the death dates of all the world’s inhabitants via text message, leading people to a keen awareness of their own mortality and, in many cases, a new lease on life.
She then runs away, setting out into the streets of Brussels in search of her own batch of six apostles, which, added to J.C.’s 12, will make for 18 — her mom’s favourite number.
“We liked the idea of putting women into the New Testament,” Van Dormael explained via Skype last week, “saying God has a wife and a rebellious daughter who is annoyed by everything, especially her father. She rounds up these apostles, all beautiful losers burnt out by life, and creates stories of improbable love.
“She finds creative solutions, showing that it may be interesting to not always live your life as planned — there are lots of ways to live that are all very different and very beautiful.”
Among Ea’s apostles are an older woman (Catherine Deneuve) who, neglected by her husband, falls in love with a gorilla; a homeless man; a pervert; and a terminally ill boy who decides he wants to be a girl.
Two events marked the director during the creative process: a march against gay marriage and the Charlie Hebdo attacks. As a result, his film makes a conscious effort to promote diversity.
Le tout nouveau testament rolls along with an Amélie-style magical realism, aided by a hyperactive soundtrack and a mischievous tone that highlights the absurdity of everyday situations.
“Humour allowed us to throw ourselves (into the writing) and laugh about serious or painful things,” Van Dormael said. “If this was a tragedy, we may have stopped earlier. With comedy, you can go further.”
Pili Groyne’s “emotional intelligence” made her perfect for Le tout nouveau testament’s lead, says Jaco Van Dormael.
Van Dormael’s sense of the absurd can be traced back decades. Before making features, he worked as a clown — a job that has informed everything he has done since.
“There are a lot of clowns among the characters of this film,” he said. “Her parents are clowns. A lot of the actors have great comic timing; they’re like the heirs of silent cinema. I like that a lot — it’s great to hear people laugh. Emotions are nice, too, but you never know (what people are thinking).”
Finding the right actress to play the lead was key to pulling off the film’s outlandish premise. Groyne had appeared in the Dardenne brothers’ Deux jours, une nuit and the Belgian thriller Alleluia, but had never carried a film in a starring role. For Van Dormael, the casting came down to a question of attitude over experience.
“She was 10 when we shot the film, but had this emotional intelligence,” he said. “She understood everything. At one point, I said, ‘Try to have more of a look of …’ and she said, ‘Determination?’
“She got everything. She has this strength; she’s a spitfire. It’s amazing. I needed that for my protagonist, who is a determined, intrepid girl. Her father can’t kill her, because she is stronger than him.”
Van Dormael would have come in for Wednesday’s FNC screening, but he’s in the midst of rehearsals for Cold Blood, a performance mixing theatre, dance, cinema and music, which he and his choreographer wife, Michèle Anne de Mey, will bring to Usine C in February.
“There’s no story yet,” he said. “We have lots of plans. We’ve started improvising. The process is very different than in cinema. It’s very relaxing. In cinema, you have to write a script, budget, plan, find financing and know that on such and such a day, you’ll shoot this scene. This is art, it’s alive, and you can change things.”
AT A GLANCE
Le tout nouveau testament is the opening film of the 44th Festival du nouveau cinéma. It screens with English subtitles Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at Concordia’s Hall Theatre, by invitation only; and again Thursday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. at Cinéma du Parc, 3575 Parc Ave. For tickets, visit nouveaucinema.ca. The film opens in theatres on Friday, Oct. 9.
