When Statues Come To Life: ‘The Miracle’ Reviewed
by Rachel Bellwoar
Warner Archive provided me with a free copy of the Blu-Ray I reviewed in this article. The opinions I share are my own.
With a title like The Miracle and a two hour runtime, the film certainly looks the part of a religious epic and, since there was no DVD release before this Blu-ray, there’s a good chance this is going to be a first time watch for most people. The truth is The Miracle has more in common with romance novels and soap operas than it does a more pious film like The Nun’s Story. Depending on what you’re looking for (I’m writing as someone who loves Carroll Baker movies and really only zeroed in on The Miracle for her), that might be a good thing.
Warner Archive’s Blu-ray doesn’t come with any behind-the-scenes featurettes (only two Bugs Bunny cartoons), but the point that gets brought up a lot online is that Baker and director Irving Rapper didn’t get along, which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the finished product. The plot essentially goes like this:
Teresa (Baker) is a postulant at a Spanish convent when she meets a young British captain (Roger Moore) who’s wounded in battle. After helping to nurse him back to health. Teresa decides to run away with him, only for a misunderstanding to lead her to think he’s been killed and that God didn’t listen to her prayers. Left at the convent as a baby, Teresa’s never known any other life, but in light of this crisis of faith, she decides to listen to the nuns who’ve made remarks that she might be a “gypsy” and join a gypsy troupe. The rest of the film is basically her attempts to forge a life outside the convent, with the question being whether she’ll ultimately go back and take her vows or cast her nun’s habit aside forever.
One important detail left out of that summary are the supernatural elements. Besides the fact that nature seems to be in tune with Theresa’s feelings, meaning the weather often reflects her emotional turmoil like a Nicholas Ray or Douglas Sirk film, it turns out the statue her convent is known for has a mind of its own. When Terese leaves the convent, the statue comes to life and takes her place, meaning none of the other nuns realise she’s gone. This is presented as the statue covering for Teresa and not the statue stealing her life, like a shapeshifter in a horror movie, but such an explanation falls apart under the barest of scrutiny
If the statue really wanted to help Teresa it would’ve let her in on the plan. Instead, as far as she knows the nuns hate her guts. Instead of realizing she can go back whenever she wants and take this time to explore her options she has to feel guilty for leaving. It’s all manipulation and riggory under the guise of freedom of choice. The Miracle is the ultimate gaslighting movie and yet despite all of the horrible messaging (and Walter Slezak in brown face and Baker with her hair dyed because she’s supposed to be Spanish), if you consume The Miracle purely as high strung melodrama the likes of Wuthering Heights and Shakespeare (early in the film Teresa quotes from Romeo and Juliet but by the end the poor girl’s made to feel like Lady Macbeth) it really is quite entertaining. Not that it’s unusual for them, but Warner Archive have done a beautiful restoration as well. From the purple of the nuns’ habits to the red military uniforms, the colors couldn’t be more vibrant.
The Miracle is on sale now from Warner Archive and to purchase from Movie Zyng.
