Madonna mit den zwei Gesichtern

Those who are hard-bitten, unsentimental, hate religious epics, or laugh easily at ultra-romantic plots laced with mysticism, religious omens, and ominous signs (such as a wind that mysteriously comes up, droughts that devastate a land when someone leaves, and thunderstorms that spring up just at the right moment) had better either avoid this film or be prepared for a real howl. Add to this some hammy overacting from the miscast Carroll Baker, who is supposed to be Spanish, of all things.(Natalie Wood, who turned down the role, would have been a far better choice, and Sophia Loren might have been even better). And the young,unwrinkled Roger Moore DID look too pretty for a male actor.

But the basic plot, of the Virgin's statue taking a young nun's place is an old and time-honored legend used before on stage and film, and those who really get into this kind of thing will love it, although the disturbing idea of a heavenly curse which apparently causes death is certainly not in keeping with the Catholic idea of a merciful God. The movie is NOT cheesy, by the way; it is quite elaborately produced, with good photography and a throbbing musical score by "Ten Commandments" and "Magnificent Seven" composer Elmer Bernstein.

I had watched in my tender age in 1983 and due my religion's roots on Catholic Church I'd gave a great dimension on it, regarding it with a hefty meaning for my believers, for many years l've been looking for this hard to find movie, now I'd got an average copy on DVD-R taped from cable TV, revisiting this long awaited "The Miracle", sadly I have realized that my early feelings was wrong, this picture walks in a fake premise of Puritanism, the Novice Teresa (Carroll Baker) clearly had an ambiguous personality, all this took place at in the Valley of Miraflores in Spain during the Napoleonic wars at its time trespassing the Spanish territory, already aware of such menacing movement the British Army fleetingly sent a massive troops to face the greed French Emperor, in this tricky environment the attractive Novice Teresa meets the gallant Captain Michael Stuart (Roger Moore) whom she falling in love at first glance, after one battle the brave Captain was sternly injured, thus she makes a promise to Madonna of the Miraflores, if he survives she'll gives her vows to be a Nun, he recovers and goes back to the battle, however she leaves the Convent trying to meet his beloved soldier, thereupon the holly Madonna disappears from the shrine and embodies the Teresa's absent, she follows the Gypsies, soon appears Michael's belongs with a Gypsy's member who told to her that all objects was found with a dead body of a British soldier, upon this awful reality she breaks her previous vows gave to Madonna, becoming a mundane girl having several love affairs, always they end up on a tragic death, the times goes by, four years precisely at Brussels she finally meets the still alive now General Michael, somehow she heard an odd story when Michael visited her at convent, what he saw her there, then undermined about that she returns to Valley of the Miraflores where has ongoing a hard dry season for exact last four years, none a single drop of water fallen there, plenty unsatisfactory outcome and too much fanciful, no make sense whatever yours persuasions, anyone has to pay for others fails, it sounds fully contradictory at God's sight, thus there no miracle!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1984 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD-R / Rating: 6.5.

My sister recently asked me if I knew where to find this picture, and coincidentally I had it in my film library, purchased about a year back from Movies Unlimited, a mail-order VHS/DVD house. I decided to revisit it, and to my delight it was everything I remembered it to be when it first came out in my pre-pubescence. This is a saga which begs to be re-made today, but NOT for the big screen, rather for the The Met. It has everything one could possibly ask for in Grand Opera. The beautiful young postulant nun, the dashing British officer, the regiment passing through with little children dancing around them waving flags. The backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Gypsies, bullfighters, Flamenco dancing and religious spectacle. What more could you ask for? With a plot as thin as a scrim, the libretto would be a cake walk, which I would LOVE to write. Would any composer care to collaborate? One thing eludes me, in the film, and IMDb has failed to enlighten me: Who is the singing voice of Theresa in the Spanish nightclub scenes? Could it be Victoria de Los Angeles? A fabulous voice. I highly recommend this movie to young and old, mostly female audiences (after all, it is cornier than even "An Affair to Remember"). Enjoy the sheer prettiness of it.

During the war of 1812, a young nun leaves the convent to search for a series of romantic adventures, and during her journey the statue of the virgin Mary descends from the pedestal and takes the young nun's place until her return.

Adapted from a fairly deadening and lunatic play, and tricked out with the old-fashioned Max Reinhardt pageantry; this immensely long and heavy-going amalgam of would-be religious parable and decorative period romance soon becomes numbingly risible and never lets up. A very curious choice for an emergent leading lady obviously, and unsuccessfully, fighting against her freshly established image, while the star supporting players - apparently intended as a balance - suffer from being tediously typecast. None of the actors have much opportunity to display their skills and the direction is below average. Quite a stupefying enterprise, but a sometimes engagingly silly one.

Where can I watch from. Loved the movie many years ago and would like my family to watch it.