The Mirakle (2005)

Director:

Roberto Bentivegna

Writers:

Roberto Bentivegna (writer)
Eli Kooris (contributing writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Short

Tagline:

Nobody said miracles were easy...

Plot:

Two priests, Pep and Bruno, become fed up with preaching day after day to a congregation that is not present...

Plot Keywords:

Satire | Fable

Cast

Steven Mango	...	Churchgoer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elizabeth Clements	...	Churchgoer
Liz Clements	...	Churchgoer
Molly Cranna	...	Churchgoer
Paul DiMilla	...	Pep
Mark Godden	...	Mayor Rothstein
David Mokriski	...	Alexander
Chuck Muldoon	...	Father eating dinner
William O'Keefe	...	Tiberius
Nicholas Purcell	...	Churchgoer
Floyd Richardson	...	Bruno

Runtime:

USA:26 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Trivia:

The Archdiocese of Boston tried to stop the film from happening. In a letter to Roberto Bentivegna, Bishop O'Malley described the script as being "blasphemous", as "not reflecting the teachings of the Catholic doctrine" and sent out a circular letter to the churches within the Archdiocese asking for the boycott of the production. Luckily Father Vincenzo Rosato had a sense of humor and allowed his church to be used.

Movie Connections:

Features Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Cannes screening

I saw this quirky short at the Cannes Film Festival. The director was present and I had the chance to talk to him after the screening.

As a Catholic, it was refreshing to see a film that respected the faith but that raised very pertinent questions. The film looked great and the performances were strong. The tone was consistent and very different. The director explained that it was a fantasy, and I thought about the film again with that in mind. It certainly followed that structure (the "magical forest", the elixir, Tiberius in the woods) but I am wondering if I would have figured that out without him telling me. My only other criticism was that I felt that this would be better off as a feature- but that's hardly a criticism. Overall a wonderful little film.