OH MY GOODNESS! (Cert. 12A), original French title Juste Ciel!, begins by parodying The Sound of Music. Instead of an aerial shot of Julie Andrews, arms outstretched, twirling and singing, we get a middle-aged Benedictine nun taking a tumble as she karaokes in her convent garden. She quickly recovers on spotting what she believes is a holy miracle: an edelweiss growing in the lawn. Believing that such an alpine blossom of snow can bloom and grow in this part of the world lays down a marker for a film about dogged faith.
Most of the rest of the story concerns how Mother Véronique (Valérie Bonneton) and her eccentric Sisters try to save a nursing home from financial ruin by entering a major bicycle race to win the €25,000 cash prize. For Véronique, there is the extra incentive of a trip to meet the Pope in the Vatican if victorious. From thereon, we are treated to a broad comedy, one that won’t tickle everyone’s funny bone. These are definitely nuns on a run, out of their normal routines, in pursuit of what seems unattainable. But with God all things are possible, they say. Just as well; for their pedalling skills are negligible.
Cue many a comic caper until the real threat to their winning is when a dedicated team of cyclists appears. To some extent by accident, but mainly by design, the Sisters remove these competitors, only to be confronted with new ones. These come in the shape of another religious order: the Sisters of Redemption. Sidse Babett Knudsen (known to us from the television series Borgen) plays Mother Joséphine. It turns out that she is Véronique’s arch-rival from schooldays: one who always came out top.
Chapter 53 of The Rule of St Benedict states that all guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ. So, when Joséphine invites herself and companions to stay at the convent, Véronique has no option but to comply. To make matters worse, the Redemptorists are also entering the cycle race in the hope of winning the money to assist their work with rehabilitating prisoners. There follows much wailing and gnashing of teeth as the rivals vie with each other in a series of fiery encounters. Véronique breaks first, admitting her life-long jealousy, and in a fit of anger wishes upon Josephine a gluten-free existence in hell.
The director Laurent Tirard’s sense of humour may be somewhat heavy-handed, but he manages to offer useful insights into the human condition. Does tenacious belief that God will provide justify reaching one’s goal by fair means or (in this case, primarily) foul? Another question to emerge is whether the journey of a soul includes utterly denying one’s past and what has made one who one is. Spoiler alert: there’s a strong sense in this film of Dag Hammarskjöld’s words being taken to heart: “For all that has been, thanks, for all that is to be, yes!” And it is no accident that the Sisters who invade Véronique’s stronghold are dedicated to bringing redemption with them.