By a fireside in a Gothic ruin sits an invisible God watching the world below on a television screen. Disparate images of war and dispossession intersect with images of religious observance. The television set implodes. The invisible God has existential problems. He's sometimes not quite sure whether he exists or not. However he does have a mission. He's working on a script which will bring humanity together. But will he be able to find the right director? Once upon a time he was in love with Joan of Arc. Her death still plagues his conscience. Is there a modern Joan of Arc somewhere down there who can bring his vision to the screen?
I first saw 'Let There Be Light' some years ago on SBS. When I went looking for it recently I found that there wasn't an English language version available on DVD, which seems a real shame. It's an immensely enjoyable film. It has a broad scope and works on many different levels. It's funny, thought provoking, beautifully paced and deftly put together. The music is bright and there are great moments of editing. Sure, it is a wildly preposterous premise and yes, I did watch it fearing that it might plummet. But actually I found it did the opposite.
At the heart of this film is a sense of gentle bemusement at the foibles of flailing humanity. This particularly shines through the heroine, played by Helene de Fougerolles. She is disarmingly unpretentious throughout and at times almost translucent. Tcheky Karyo does a suitably beguiling Mephistophelean character with relish and God in his many manifestations is a multifaceted wonder. At the end of the film there is a mirroring of that lonely image of God the writer which came at the beginning. Not a bad transformation for an old bloke.
I first saw 'Let There Be Light' some years ago on SBS. When I went looking for it recently I found that there wasn't an English language version available on DVD, which seems a real shame. It's an immensely enjoyable film. It has a broad scope and works on many different levels. It's funny, thought provoking, beautifully paced and deftly put together. The music is bright and there are great moments of editing. Sure, it is a wildly preposterous premise and yes, I did watch it fearing that it might plummet. But actually I found it did the opposite.
At the heart of this film is a sense of gentle bemusement at the foibles of flailing humanity. This particularly shines through the heroine, played by Helene de Fougerolles. She is disarmingly unpretentious throughout and at times almost translucent. Tcheky Karyo does a suitably beguiling Mephistophelean character with relish and God in his many manifestations is a multifaceted wonder. At the end of the film there is a mirroring of that lonely image of God the writer which came at the beginning. Not a bad transformation for an old bloke.