It's no secret that my favorite French film is "Amelie" (Les Fableaux Destines d'Amelie Poulain) by the filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeanne (and anyone who loves the film as much as I do is welcome to travel to Paris using this itinerary ). I've always dreamed of a sequel, but Jeanne and the main star, Audrey Tautou, apparently had other plans and a sequel was never made (and perhaps it's a good thing, since very few sequels have managed to reach the level of the original film). And here, suddenly and precisely from Belgium comes the film "The Divine Comedy", which of course is not a direct or official sequel to "Amelie", but to me it is a kind of sequel, or if not, then at least a stepbrother or natural to this wonderful film.

Synopsis of the film The Divine Comedy (Le tout nouveau testament)

God, it turns out, is alive! He lives in Brussels and is a bit of a character, misbehaving with his wife and daughter. Yes, we heard he has a son, but it turns out he also has a daughter. Her name is Aya and she is ten years old. One day the girl gets fed up and decides to take revenge. She hacks into God's computer and sends every person in the world a text message with the date he will die. The mess is celebrating. The new film by Jacques Van Doermel ("Toto the Hero"), "Divine Comedy", is an amusing surreal satire that won hearts at the last Cannes Film Festival and is Belgium's nominee for the 2016 Oscar. The film will begin showing in Israel on December 24, 2015.

Similarities between “Divine Comedy” and “Amelie”

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much similarity between the films. “Amelie” takes place in Paris, while “Divine Comedy” takes place in Brussels. Furthermore, while Jean-Pierre Jeanne’s film presents Paris in all its glory and is a hymn to the City of Lights, Van Dormael’s Brussels is presented in all its ugliness. You won’t find images of the beautiful town square or even the statue of the urinating boy, but mainly gray, modern streets and buildings (even the baroque church in the film becomes a kind of refugee camp, where the unfortunate people who find themselves there manage to hide any sign of beauty). However, on second and third viewing, the similarities slowly begin to emerge. Here are some examples:

Although “Amelie” leans more toward the light and romantic side while “Divine Comedy” leans more toward the dark side, both are sad comedies in which laughter and crying alternate at dizzying speed.
In both films, the central motif is the loneliness of both the heroine (Amelie She has never experienced a serious romantic relationship, while Aya lives in a family with an abusive father, an apathetic mother, and a brother who was crucified about 2000 years ago) and of the other main characters in the film (for example, the "Glass Man" in the film "Amelie", whose physical condition requires him to lock himself in his house, or the woman starring Catherine Deneuve in the film "Divine Comedy" who lives in solitude with a husband who does not love her).
Out of this loneliness, both Aya and Amelie embark on a journey with the goal of helping others and making them discover their inner truth, and through this journey, to ease the loneliness of each person. Here is an example of Amelie, who connects Dominique Bertaudeau to his childhood:

Aya manages to help her characters make a similar journey by revealing to each of them the time of their death, because once a person knows how much time they have left, they stop wasting it on independent lies. Thus, each character in “Divine Comedy” embarks on a physical or internal journey in which they discover themselves and take advantage of every given moment to fulfill their deepest desires.

The wonderful Yolande Moreau, who plays in both films and is a kind of connecting thread. In the film Amelie she plays Madeleine Wallace, a weak and rather passive woman who dedicates her life to the memory of her husband who betrayed her and abandoned her. In the current film, she also plays a very similar character (in terms of the weakness and passivity she projects). However, unlike “Amelie” towards the end of the film, she takes the initiative and completely changes the direction of the plot.

Finally, the soundtrack in both films is simply amazing. The soundtrack of “Amelie” was created almost entirely by Yann Tiersen and is background music that emphasizes events that occur in the film. In contrast, almost the entire soundtrack of “Divine Comedy” consists of melodies and songs composed by others. However, unlike “Amelie”, each melody has a crucial connection to the plot because the main character hears them, as she listens to the hearts of each of the characters in the film. Thus, from background music, the music in the film becomes a plot promoter. And what music! From baroque music by Handel, Purcell and Rameau to songs by Dalida, Charles Trenet and Salvatore Adamo, I promise you that you will not be able to leave this soundtrack. Here is my favorite song from the film:

Summary: Is “Divine Comedy” a worthy sequel to “Amelie”?

I got to see the film with a few other friends at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. My personal opinion is that it is simply a wonderful film and one of the best films ever made. I especially liked the constant transition between sharp and jagged humor and heart-wrenching sadness and the wonderful soundtrack. However, the dark and gray nature of the film, along with the surrealism found in every corner, may bother some viewers who may not understand all the subtleties of the plot. And so, while I came away thrilled, my friends came away a little less thrilled and defined the film as “likable, but not a masterpiece.” Therefore, I would be very happy to hear your opinion, which you are invited to write in the comments below or on the Anonymous Francophiles Facebook page . So what do you think? A masterpiece or just a nice comedy to spend the evening with?

To watch The Divine Comedy on Amazon Prime, click here.