Miracles from Heaven

Director: Patricia Riggen
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, Queen Latifah, Eugenio Derbez, John Carroll Lynch.
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Runtime: 109 mins. Reviewed in Apr 2016

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Rating notes: Mild themes. Some upsetting scenes

It is said that after the success, commercially, of The Passion of the Christ, American faith films received a boost of confidence, moving to bigger budgets, campaigns for wider and mainstream distribution, both in the United States and beyond. Miracles from Heaven is one of these films.

These faith films divide opinion and comment. American secular reviews of Miracles from Heaven are quite damning, not ready to give much credit to such films, saying that they are too pies pious, too sentimental, too unreal, especially in this case as in the previous Heaven is for Real, the events, the healings and miracles, too difficult to swallow.

On the other hand, for instance on the Internet Movie Database (see link above), practically all of the comments are from the faith audience who have found this film not only a good entertainment but a reinforcement of faith and values.

It is based on a true story and a book by the mother of the family, Christy Beam. She and her husband, Kevin, and their three daughters are a typical middle American family, he a vet who works some of the land, she a mother, and the family are members of the local evangelical church, led by very genial pastor, John Carroll Lynch. Clearly, this is a wholesome story in its perspective and treatment.

When the middle daughter experiences stomach and throat trouble, is in continual pain, and the diagnoses assert that there is nothing basically wrong with her, Christy becomes very angry with the doctors and demands further tests, which leads to the discovery that the girl has severe intestinal problem, especially for any digestion of food. While the family prays, and the Christian community is supportive, there is a severe scene where two of the ladies of the parish accost Christy and say that either she and the family, or even the daughter, must have sinned in some way for the daughter to be so ill. Christy loses her sense of faith.

In a sense, this is a story about family, how they deal with in illness, the contact with a world specialist in Boston with an enormous waiting list and Christy, determined, takes her daughter to Boston and, providentially, gets an appointment. The doctor is in the vein of such medical characters as Patch Adams, a way with children, a way with adults, cheerful and joking even when the prognosis indicates terminal illness.

There is a miracle in this film, not as one might have anticipated, but a healing.

One of the interesting aspects of presenting miracles on screen is the response of different faith communities towards miracles. For more evangelical communities, this is an encounter with God, and intervention in people’s lives. Catholics need to remember that miracles are required for any progress on stages for beatification and canonisation and that at any one time around the world many Catholics are praying for here things for potentials saints and their recognition.

Some physical comments made during the film and the issue of spontaneous reconstruction. On the other hand, with the little girl saying that she had an encounter with God, this could be seen as the equivalent of a dream – and there is a great deal of thinking and writing on the effect of dreams on the human psyche and the human body.

Yes, the film was very American, is not ashamed of sentiment, is not ashamed of prayer and faith. The central couple is played by Jennifer Garner and Martin Henderson. And the very sympathetic doctor is played by Eugenio Derbez. Kylie Rogers gives a persuasive performance as the sick girl, trying to cope with her continued pain and hospitalisation, tests and treatment, bonding with her family, healed. And Queen Latifah is genial and jovial as the friendly waitress.

And, in the final credits, there are photos and video footage of all the family several years after the miraculous experience – the young daughter herself, large as life, on the screen as a testimony to her faith.