A trophy wife called Martine (Catherine Deneuve) discovers she doesn’t have long to live and proceeds to have an affair with a gorilla. The word zany normally brings me out in a rash (I detested Jeunet’s Amélie). Yet, as it happens, the z-word suits this low-budget Belgian fantasy, whose central character is a divine 10-year-old computer hacker.
Ea (Pili Groyne, delightful) rebels against the Almighty — who just happens to be her sadistic and tyrannical father (Benoit Poelvoorde) — by telling the inhabitants of the world exactly when they will die. Her papa promises to lock her up but, thanks to a streak of luck Edward Snowden would envy, she remains free to roam around the globe choosing six new apostles.
Everything concerning God (music, acting and script) veers towards the pantomime-ish. And it is typical of a certain kind of European art house movie that pornography and prostitution prove to be paths to enlightenment.
Still, the film’s generous spirit keeps digging it out of trouble. The graphics are neat and Ea and a young boy engage in a lovely, frisky bit of dancing.
As already mentioned, there’s also the Deneuve-factor. The actress, in a performance that can only be described as gung-ho, turns A Midsummer Night’s Dream on its head. Martine is the Titania who never tires of kissing Bottom; the Titania who, by deliberately making a fool of herself, becomes the opposite of ridiculous. Age 72, Deneuve evidently enjoys trying brand new things. Ave Catherine.
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