You Won’t Be Able to Stop Thinking About This Film Any Time Soon

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MOVIE REVIEW
Miracle (Miracol)
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Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Year Released: 2021 (Venice Film Festival,) 2022 (Wider release)
Runtime: 1h 58m
Director(s): Bogdan George Apetri
Writer(s): Bogdan George Apetri
Cast: Ioana Bugarin, Emanuel Parvu, Cezar Antal
Where To Watch: The theatrical premiere is on Friday, June 3, at NYC's film forum, with additional markets to follow.

I can’t share the film's full synopsis with you as I feel it would ruin part of the experience of watching the journey unfold. There is so much going for this unique mix of crime/thriller that I have a hard time narrowing down how to explain the film without giving anything important away.

I didn’t know what to expect when I received the film. While not offering anything incredibly unique, the poster is so powerful at the same time. You’ll instantly understand how its subtleness draws an intrigue that I can’t place my finger on if you see it. The subdued nature of star Ioana Bugarin as Cristina Tofan may inspire more automatic interest.

I find it somewhat ironic that I had mentioned previously that I hadn’t watched many Romanian films, yet I’ve now watched three in the past week. In my eyes, they offer a very consistent branding of cinema, often very strong-willed and powerful, showing how the country has reclaimed itself from days of the past. I will say that the stories told are uniquely theirs and just as powerful as anything you could imagine.

To no surprise, I haven’t seen any other film from this director Bogdan George Apetri or his main cast of Bugarin or Emanuel Pârvu. So I don’t have a lot of ground to base any comparisons on, but I can say that this film was compelling. The thriller aspect of the film caught me off guard more than I had suspected. It makes me wonder if I could understand Romainain natively instead of relying on subtitles if the film would have been as interesting (not in a bad way, but I am sure there was some disconnect between my reading and the original intention of the film.)

The story revolves around a decision that Bugarin makes early in the film, and what unfolds will keep you questioning what you know and what you think you know from the moment you start watching. Pârvu, who plays a significant role in the film, really shows his passion for this role, to the point where I questioned myself at times. His determination felt so real that it almost feels that you’re watching this unfold in real life instead of a scripted story that someone wrote.

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