Milagro en Roma (1989)A man's seven-year-old daughter dies and his grief is overwhelming. After twelve years he finds the body perfectly preserved and his neighbors consider it a miracle and support him in his ... See full summary » Director:Lisandro Duque Naranjo |
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The movie "Milagro en Roma" is a Spanish-language movie adapted from a short story named "La Santa" by Colombian author Gabriel García Marquéz. The movie was directed in 1988 by Lisandro Duque Naranjo. The main objective of the movie is to show the distance between institutions and the common people. The movie succeeds at this in many aspects. However, it is the satire and dark comedy which makes this movie worth watching.
As for the plot of the movie, it centers around the mysterious death of a man's young child. Twelve years after her death, the man must dig up the remains of the child in order to prevent them from being placed in a mass grave after the parish constructs a new cemetary. Upon doing this, the man finds his daughter to be completely preserved. It is big news in the small town and people seem to think perhaps the girl is the first-ever Colombian saint. The local clergy arrives in order to analyze the situation, but nothing comes of it. The man eventually goes to Rome in order to further look into the matter of having his daughter canonized. However, he is routinely ignored and entangled in the bureaucratic spiderweb of the ever-powerful Catholic Church. Despite all of this, his efforts do not go to waste, and we the viewer find out who the true saint is in this heartwarming story.
I found the movie to be good, but nothing spectacular. It succeeds on many levels, with the combination of heartache, frustration, sadness, yet humor as well. I would recommend the movie, especially if one has read the short story "La Santa" by García Marquéz. The ending somewhat undermined some of the themes developed throughout the movie, but I do not think that it ruined the movie. It is still a lovable movie that many can enjoy.