In The Miracle, many themes including Faith, Compassion, Infidelity, Leadership Failure, Friendship, Forgiveness and Love, fight for equal attention. A handful are powerfully explored, often to the delight of anyone inclined to see both God and political leaders put on trial.
The movie is a great pick for anyone who isn't hesitant to phone God in times of emergency. Written by Charley Mandy and directed by Benneth Nwankwo, the movie follows the story of a man torn apart by the imminent loss of his daughter's life, an event that seems to follow the tragic loss of his wife, a few years back, a somewhat unbelievable twin coincidence.
The Miracle like most short films within its status succeeds on many levels. It beautifully exhausts the central themes of Faith, Compassion and Forgiveness.
The story immediately opens with a serious buy-in, throwing the viewer right into the light-hearted conversation between a father who loves his child as deeply as he loves to show it. The extent he goes to demonstrate that love would seem like the singular action doomed to haunt him for the rest of his life. For a greater part of the film, he had more than just his fears and regrets to battle, his daughter’s life too.
Mr Ifeanyi Kalu, a successful man, and a great guy with unmistakable family values drives his daughter and during the ride, the duo contemplates faith, belief and fallacy. In a manner typical of kids, the child quizzes her father non-stop, an exercise he does not find as laborious as people's blind belief in a miracle.
Throughout the story, we see a man committed to the values of loyalty, hard work and love but never succumbing to the fact of a greater power holding the universe in place.
The movie does not show us the past experiences that inform Mr Kalu's 'irreligiosity.' Yet we are allowed to assume that the death of his wife and the guilt he feels, for his absence from home at the time of the catastrophic childbirth that claimed her life are responsible for his aesthetic stance.
How long he was going to hold on to that belief remains largely unknown until his car rammed into a herd of unguided cows crossing the road. He isn't looking when this happens. He was angling for a kiss. He kissed his daughter all right but that gesture would leave her battling with her life for a greater part of the movie.
The Miracle like every work of art set out to familiarize the viewer with contemporary issues that define the lived experiences of the average Nigerian. The quite contentious open grazing issue, the flagrant and unprofessional conduct of hospital staff, especially in the face of emotional turmoil from patients' relatives. Also, the sheer insensitivity of the average Nigerian who brings their loved ones to the hospital. The matchless standards of professionalism, understanding and empathy they demand from the medical staff, the sort they can hardly muster in their workplace.
The storyteller carefully chooses these themes, I think, to make us realize how we are all involved and culpable for the seeming failure that’s nearly characterized every aspect of Nigerian life. From social media to offline private discussions we’ve seen how people pit God and science against each other as though one does not, in fact, spring from the other.
The film comments on this rivalry. As we see, the conflict between science and religion is exemplified by the difference in belief between Mr Kalu, his wife and Nurse Kosi, whose large-sized trust in God and the simplicity of his love and mercy. Scarred by two tragic experiences, the character, Kalu believes only in the capacity of the human mind and the dependability of medical science to bring his girl back to life. He is left in the lurch when the doctors offer him nothing short of euthanasia.
In addition to the doctor’s apparent agnosticism, the movie propels us through a suspenseful loop, to discover Dr Chinyere, a character who is less enthusiastic about life than she is about interacting with others in it. Worse hit by a failed marriage and a dying child, the character neither stakes her confidence in anything or anyone who isn’t willing to be a donor. In a familiar stroke of coincidence, "the big jerk" as she describes him, Mr Kalu volunteers to donate blood to save her child’s life. Thus further exploring the universality of familial love and to what lengths parents can go to see their child live. I love that the story gives us characters who come with baggage of guilt, regrets, frustration, and helplessness at life’s endless games.
Both Mr Kalu and Dr Chinyere are everyday people who meet in a hospital setting and are unable to effectively manage the troubles in their personal lives. Every day in Nigeria people wake up and wear work clothes, and off to explode, the bottled exhaustion, frustration and unfulfilled hopes they have of Nigeria. The economy is not favourable, the body polity is messed up, values and trust in marriage are eroded, and these are mirrored in the initial interaction between people in public places like offices, hospitals, marketplace, etc.
In addition to the doctor's apparent agnosticism, the movie propels us through a suspenseful loop, to discover Dr Chinyere, a character who is less enthusiastic about life than she is about interacting with others in it. Worse hit by a failed marriage and a dying child, the character neither stakes her confidence in anything or anyone who isn't willing to be a donor. In a familiar stroke of coincidence, "the big jerk" as she describes him, Mr Kalu volunteers to donate blood to save her child's life. Thus further exploring the universality of familial love and to what lengths parents can go to see their child live.
I love that the story gives us characters who come with baggage of guilt, regrets, frustration, and helplessness in life.
Dr Chinyere seems quite the jerk until we get a sneak peek into her life and the struggles determined to undermine her brilliant, outspoken, brash and hard exterior. She is a stunner, an excellent medic. A pathetic liar and cheat nonetheless whose likely victimhood at the hands of fate could only be assessed by the vacuity of her one-off decision to nap with her ex-boyfriend a night before her wedding. She seems careless with many of her life decisions, except the one involving friendship with Nurse Kosi.
The character, Nurse Kosi, embodies the ideals of religious and cultural acquiescence, a pervasive steadfastness to patriarchy. Though a career woman, Nurse Kosi submits, albeit, joyfully, to the demands of her profession all the while acknowledging that men are big babies.
Her soft-spoken nature, and subservience to Mr Kalu’s justified irritation and the constant "Nwokeoma" give her away as the average woman that the typical man finds admirable. She mediates when it matters and ensures both Dr Chinyere and Mr Kalu let go of their pettiness and unite to help each other in times of need. She reminds us of the ways hope can sneak up on us in the most unlikely places.
I liked that she looked nothing like a religious fanatic to qualify as an Oracle of God. She plants the initial seeds of faith and hope in Mr Kalu.
The character, Dr Richard did a great job at showing us what it feels like to be new to the screen. His performance leaves a trail of poor casting, a director's struggle with limited options, blind faith in new talent and the viewer's resignation of the movie's other excellent attributes.
I'll rate The Miracle 2/5 for reasons besides the ones discussed above. The movie ticked several boxes on theme exploration, character development, cinematography and great viewing experience.
It succeeded in its engagement and presentation of the lived experiences of the average Nigerian as it concerns God and science; failed leadership, compassion, friendship, etc. The setting was useful in mirroring the geographical and historical locale in which it was situated. However, it failed on line delivery and the mechanism of dialogue to push the story forward, draw in the viewer and make the movie something next to a classic with memorable lines.
Convulsive conversations, lengthy dialogues and needless sentences where a nod, a word or a gesture would do, helped water down the impact of the work. Also, the story seemed to struggle at some point and was propelled only through the tool of flashbacks and not on the strength of the plot.
Literature does not exist to entertain, educate and enlighten alone. As Africans, we cannot afford to settle for escapism fiction, even if we wanted. Our peculiar situation and troubling realities cannot allow it.
The Miracle comments on faith and its interplay with science. The film is also a dense portrayal of humanity’s needless rivalry with one another when a little love and understanding are really all we need.
I’ll recommend the movie to anyone searching for a light-hearted, and relaxing watch. Nothing more could be said other than the fact that greatness is like stealing in many ways. It begins a day, not suddenly; and that’s some footnote for the producers.
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