The Book of Life

Hal Hartley's 1998 film is an apocalypse comedy set in New York on the night the year 2000 begins. Jesus arrives in the city to bring about the end of the world and is reluctant; he and his assistant Magdalena hesitate. The Devil sits in a bar, content to watch people destroy themselves. The seal of the apocalypse is on a laptop. The film was made cheaply on digital video for the French channel Arte's millennium series, an early choice for the period, and the odd speed and colour shifts in the image come from it. PJ Harvey as Magdalena, and her music, add a further texture. Hartley's dry humour and theological argument run into each other. Who it's for: viewers who like American independent cinema, Hal Hartley's work and low-budget formal experiment. Who it's not for: anyone wanting narrative development, or bothered by the crudeness of early digital video.