The Miracle Maker (2000)

Strong and Moving!

Sadly Over-hyped

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I first caught a glimpse of "The Miracle Maker" several years ago while traveling. I only saw about ten minutes, but what an interesting ten minutes. The story was so familiar - probably because it was as straight out of the Bible as it could be.I didn't even catch the name of the film... Thankfully, I was able to search in IMDb and found it. I rented it last week and, wow, magnificent - especially the "making of..." special feature. Several key things (my opinion) that put this film above all other Bible epics (and, listen up, Hollywood, a lot of what you adapt to film):1. The ethnicity of the actors isn't a distraction. That is, they're Semitic for the most part. Charlton Heston, in "In the Arena" expressed some bewilderment regarding his reply to Messala in "Ben Hur," "…because I'm a Jew…" The bewilderment stemming from the fact that Chuck Heston is a white Anglo/Scot American from the north-midwest. He doesn't look like he's of desert stock in "Ben-Hur," no matter how good he was. Max Von Sydow as Jesus in "The Greatest Story Ever Told," along with other performers like Shelly Winters and Chuck Heston (as John the Baptist), is asking a lot and borderline offensive. (I say "borderline" because the producers of the film weren't trying to offend anyone with a bunch of white people playing Arabs, those were the stars they used, etc.) With the models in "The Miracle Maker," it's not even an issue. Now, sure, everyone's speaking English, and most likely Peter didn't speak like Scotty from Star Trek… But why mess up the movie with subtitles? On top of that, the Bible has been published in modern English since the 1500's, and diligently compared, etc., etc.; and the place-names and characters' names are known – what I'm saying is that the voices do not distract. 2. Playing it straight. "The Miracle Maker" is right out of the Bible. Jesus performs miracles. He is the Son of God. There's not an inkling of anything trying to explain away a miracle or anything else. The effect I came away with after watching the film was joy at seeing a great, great visualization of what's in the Bible, not, say, reservation or contemplation pertaining to this or that director's interpretation of the Bible. Note, though, a lot is left out – but it's tough to do it all in an hour and a half. It takes place off-camera, no? This is a plus, though, as the film would simply be five seconds of this, five seconds of that. Instead, the producers concentrated on what they considered key stories from the Gospels. At any rate, the continuity is good. 3. The resurrected Jesus is powerful, confident, relaxed, and even happy. This is the resurrected Jesus I know. 4. Highlight: Luke 24:25-31 is in the script word-for-word (to my best recollection).

This was an enjoyable movie from beginning to end. My husband and I caught part of it by accident when our Tivo recorded the wrong thing. We were so engrossed in the story that we had to find it and watch the rest. Luckily, I recognized Ralph Fiennes' voice, so we were able to track it down and buy the movie. The quality of the audio (5.1) and the animation was incredible. I was especially impressed by the expressions on the characters' faces, especially in their eyes. It was like we were watching real people, not animation. We recommend you check it out if you get the chance; we're even thinking of getting it as gifts for friends and family.

When he decides to quit his job as a carpenter, everyone thinks Jesus has perhaps flipped but his mother knows that this "father's work" that he speaks of is in fact God's mission for him on Earth. Jesus sets off to tell the people how things should be, gathering a group of men (disciples) around him as he goes. His message is simple but it is not met well by the religious leaders of the day. Seeing the passion and zeal he brings to the people, these leaders plan to accuse him of blasphemy and see him removed from the spotlight in a bloody and permanent fashion.Whenever I watch a film I try to view it as objectively as possible, ignoring my own preconceptions, media hype etc. With this film I will set aside my opinions on the subject matter but will admit that, if you are a Christian with kids then you'll probably love this movie because it does a great job of presenting Jesus in an accessible and convincing way without making it into a Pixar or Disney Happy Meal type product. The plot is well-known but the film still does a good job with it, careful with what it drops and what it includes, building the main blocks of the tale and allowing enough to be hammered home without doing so much that it would overwhelm with events. The animation is well done; the models are smooth and match the action well, while the variations into other styles is used to make a point or to expand the limited scope of the models and their backgrounds.The voice cast is pretty close to being stellar and they certainly helped the film sell. Fiennes is OK as Jesus but I didn't think he delved deep for a character – perhaps an unfair complaint since this is aimed at kids and therefore not a performance that called for complexity or interpretation. Holm is good as Pilate; Hurt is strong in a foundation role, important in building the story on a personal level for kids. Grant is a strange John the Baptist – mainly because he sounds very like Richard E. Grant and it doesn't seem right! Stott is unmistakably but a very good Peter. Support from Massey, Molina, Peck, Thewlis, Christie and others all help the voice work add to the classy feel of this film – certainly they raise the film above the Sunday school cartoon level that lesser actors could have seen it stuck at.Overall a good film on several levels. Christians with kids will love it because it gets the message across without being "educational" in a way that puts off kids and without being the other extreme of being a glossy cartoon. However the casual viewer may enjoy it as well, because the voice work is roundly strong, the animation professional and the story told in a manner that is well delivered and watchable. Considering the millions who went to see the lesser "Passion of the Christ", this film deserves to have many more viewers.

This is an excellent movie for very small children. I would recommend it for ages 3 - 7. However it is not for adults. I was disappointed because I did not realize it had clay figures as actors.