Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
The owner of a dilapidated B&B has an idea: in order to dodge bankruptcy, he has to turn his business into a place of worship—a tax-free activity, where he'll host pilgrims in exchange for a generous donation. He joins forces with an unscrupulous accountant and a failed novelist to come up with his new religion.
Just Believe (2018) is an Italian comedy with a mildly amusing premise about manufacturing a fake religion to dodge taxes. The plot has decent comic potential but follows a fairly predictable arc for the genre without much surprise. Acting is serviceable but uneven, typical of mid-tier Italian comedies without standout performances. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable, fitting the comedic TV-movie aesthetic. The concept of a fraudulent religion as financial escape has some novelty in its Italian setting and character ensemble, though the broader premise has been explored elsewhere. The ending resolves things in a conventional, unsurprising manner typical of the genre.