The Brand New Testament
God lives in human form as a cynical writer with his young opinionated daughter in present-day Brussels, Belgium. She concludes that her dad is doing a terrible job and decides to rewrite the world, descending to earth in search of her own 6 messengers to write a brand new testament and change the status quo.
Working with a modest budget of $8.7M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $15.7M in global revenue (+81% profit margin).
16 wins & 23 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Brand New Testament (2015) exemplifies meticulously timed narrative architecture, characteristic of Jaco Van Dormael's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 54 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.3, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Ea narrates her miserable existence living with God (her abusive father) in a Brussels apartment, where he cruelly designs laws to make humanity suffer. Life under God's tyranny is petty and oppressive.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Ea hacks God's computer and sends everyone on Earth a text message revealing their exact death date. Chaos erupts worldwide as humanity receives divine knowledge. God is furious—his power has been undermined.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Ea fully commits to her mission, actively recruiting her first apostle (the lonely office worker who fantasizes about being a child). She moves from running away to actively building a new gospel. There's no turning back now., moving from reaction to action.
At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Ea completes gathering all six apostles and they celebrate together. It's a false victory—they've succeeded in the recruitment, but haven't yet faced the consequences. The new gospel is taking shape, and God's power continues to weaken. Stakes rise., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 86 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, God finally catches up to Ea and violently reasserts his authority. The apostles scatter in fear. Ea's mission seems crushed, and God prepares to drag her back to heaven and restore his tyrannical order. Hope dies., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 92 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. The Goddess (God's wife) finally acts, descending to Earth. Her intervention and the apostles' solidarity give Ea the breakthrough: love and community are stronger than tyranny. The new Testament is published, completing the divine upset., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Brand New Testament's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping The Brand New Testament against these established plot points, we can identify how Jaco Van Dormael utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Brand New Testament within the comedy genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Ea narrates her miserable existence living with God (her abusive father) in a Brussels apartment, where he cruelly designs laws to make humanity suffer. Life under God's tyranny is petty and oppressive.
Theme
Ea observes that people could be happy if they knew their fate and stopped fearing death. This thematic statement sets up the central question: would knowing your death date free you or curse you?
Worldbuilding
Ea shows us God's household: his wife (the Goddess) does nothing, Jesus meekly edits the Bible, and God spends his days inventing petty cruelties at his computer. We see God's arbitrary laws (toast always lands butter-side down, etc.) and his absolute control.
Disruption
Ea hacks God's computer and sends everyone on Earth a text message revealing their exact death date. Chaos erupts worldwide as humanity receives divine knowledge. God is furious—his power has been undermined.
Resistance
Ea escapes to Earth through the washing machine portal (guided by her brother Jesus's earlier path). God pursues her but gets trapped. Ea plans to find six new apostles to complete the Testament and overthrow her father's cruel regime. She meets her first apostle candidates.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Ea fully commits to her mission, actively recruiting her first apostle (the lonely office worker who fantasizes about being a child). She moves from running away to actively building a new gospel. There's no turning back now.
Mirror World
Ea meets and stays with Catherine Deneuve's character (Martine), a lonely woman who becomes a surrogate mother figure. This relationship represents the loving guidance and acceptance Ea never received from her own parents—the thematic heart of the story.
Premise
The fun premise: Ea recruits her six apostles, each discovering their death date leads them to pursue their true desires. A sex-obsessed man becomes a serial killer's confidant, a woman abandons her family for adventure, an angry boy finds beauty. Meanwhile, God bumbles through Earth trying to recapture Ea.
Midpoint
Ea completes gathering all six apostles and they celebrate together. It's a false victory—they've succeeded in the recruitment, but haven't yet faced the consequences. The new gospel is taking shape, and God's power continues to weaken. Stakes rise.
Opposition
God grows increasingly desperate and dangerous on Earth. The apostles face challenges living out their revelations—relationships strain, society pushes back. God gets closer to finding Ea. The initial joy of liberation gives way to complications and consequences.
Collapse
God finally catches up to Ea and violently reasserts his authority. The apostles scatter in fear. Ea's mission seems crushed, and God prepares to drag her back to heaven and restore his tyrannical order. Hope dies.
Crisis
Ea faces the emotional darkness of her potential failure. The apostles process what their rebellion has cost them. God gloats. But in this darkness, the apostles and Ea realize that their transformation is already complete—they've already changed, regardless of God's threats.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
The Goddess (God's wife) finally acts, descending to Earth. Her intervention and the apostles' solidarity give Ea the breakthrough: love and community are stronger than tyranny. The new Testament is published, completing the divine upset.
Synthesis
The finale: God is overthrown and becomes mortal on Earth, forced to experience the suffering he inflicted. The Goddess takes over heaven and repairs the cruelties. The apostles live out their authentic lives. Ea's gospel spreads. A new, gentler divine order emerges.
Transformation
Ea, now free and empowered, enjoys a transformed world where humanity lives authentically with the knowledge of their mortality. God suffers as a homeless mortal—poetic justice. The closing image mirrors the opening but inverted: power has shifted from tyranny to compassion.