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Here it says "Miracle run" but I saw a big "The unexpected journey" in white during the first frame of the film, over a black background. One way or the other, both titles fit perfectly for what the movie wants to declare, to teach or to show, I don't exactly know.

TV movies today, I believe, have an educational value. I'm not saying we've got to watch them like we watched that video that explained how we came into the world, so we can never forget it. I'm saying that if you've got the time, you should sit down and try to get something out of it.

Months ago I saw "She's too young", a solid movie about the life of teenagers in the States…The drugs, the sex, Aids, etc. It was strong, for sure, but it seemed true. In "Miracle run", as in the latter film and as in "Everyday people", you'll find real characters living real lives. Have I said this a million times? Yes; but this is TV movies' specialty today.

They manage to get a promising cast. Maybe some big stars, maybe some new talents…They make a mix. They pick a strong story, someone to write it and a gut with some experience to direct it. It sure won't seem the same as a movie we see each week in the movie theater, but the good thing is that it doesn't pretend to.

The cast of "Miracle run" is headed by the dazzling Mary-Louise Parker (40 and looking gorgeous; that's a woman I'd like to put my hands on), as Corrine, the mother of two autistic seven-year old boys; in a performance that assures television is her place for the rest of her years. All the doctors had been telling her the boys take more time to grow up, but they don't talk and don't read and…They are seven. These first events end up in a couple break-up and the beginning of a new life.

Eventually, with the help of a good old doctor, the kids will learn to read, to write, to talk, but will still feel disturbed in some occasions and their way of walking and expressing is not totally normal. However, they have a special intelligence, and if they don't acknowledge it, they'll be constantly driven by Stallone's triumph in "Rocky 3" (the second best movie of the anthology) to achieve their goals.

Steven is a sports fan. He likes to run, to compete… "Like Rocky", he says. He goes running everyday and the scenes are shot like something will happen to him soon, but nothing ever occurs. He joins the cross country team and trains for a big race, but has problems because he gets lost. The parental figure will fix it.

Phillip is more cultured; more artistic. He's always been quieter and has always listened to his brother. But he imitates, and he learns really fast. The first week he learns how to play chess, he beats the school's best player. He'll also develop great gifted musical abilities. The parental figure will generate this. The boys are played by two young actors, Zac Efron and Bubba Lewis respectively; and theirs are two promising interpretations. The first one did a TV show and is preparing a film; the second one hasn't worked since this film.

But who's the parental figure? Well, not the best looking man to occupy that role; but he's called Doug, and he solves Steven's loosing issue and gives Phillip his first guitar. The role was given to Aidan Quinn, and it's amazing how he can look like a finished man in "Songcatcher" (a film I never saw) then seem to be thirty in "Evelyn", and first look like a hippie and like a cleaned up mister here. Transformation, dedication.

Mike Maples' only screenplay covers all the aspects the film wants to deal with. The love relationship of one of the kids, the struggle of a single mother, the development of a relationship in your mid life, the rejection that exists because of the autism…His words and Gregg Champions' magic directing touch make this a totally watch able and fulfilling experience.

I've often seen movies made for TV, but most of the time, I prefer the ones which are quite famous and which have received Emmy's and Golden Globes. I've seen movies like "The Gathering Storm", "Door To Door" and "Live From Baghdad". I loved all of them. The reason I saw this very small TV-movie is because Mary-Louise Parker was starring in it. I became a huge fan of her after seeing her stunning performance in "Angels in America".

I wasn't disappointed after seeing "Miracle Run" either. Mary-Louise Parker, Aidan Quinn as well as the boys when the are teenagers gave excellent performances. The fact that it's based on a true story makes it even better. I always like seeing movies based on true stories, but they need to have a decent cast. I also believe these kind of movies are important to support and encourage people who are going through similar situations.

"Miracle Run" is absolutely worth watching because of the wonderful performances and the amazing story.

8/10

"Miracle Run" is not the first film to take on the subject of autism, but it is likely the most affirmative, and that is something significant.

I, myself, have Asperger's Syndrome, which puts me on the autistic spectrum, something I didn't know the first time I saw this film. Yet, even on the first viewing, something that caught my attention was the scene where the young Steven Morgan is transfixed by an air conditioner vent on the ceiling as he is being interviewed by a psychiatrist. This is exactly something that happened to me when I was a few years older than Steven was.

I bring this up because I feel autism and autistic spectrum orientations are far more common than thought, and I have a feeling many people watching this film have more in common with the Morgans than they think they do. Because of this, the film has tremendous importance. The Morgan twins, who were branded as hopeless when children, and castigated in High School as "retards" for their manner of speech and movement, neither were, nor are, hopeless or mentally challenged. They simply think and learn differently.

The film somewhat makes these points. Somewhere in Corinne Morgan's struggle to get appropriate education for her sons is the message that our educational system is geared only for those capable of learning in traditional ways. The film does say that once the boys have been taught in a way that connects with their learning styles, they are fully functional and able to not only be but excel in High School.

"Miracle Run" does make note of the remarkable abilities of its protagonists, something alluded to at the very beginning by Phillip watching a Superman cartoon. Indeed, even before the running gag begins about the Morgans joining every club requiring intellectual or physical skills in High School, there are vague suggestions of the remarkable minds of these two. This is especially so in one scene where the young Steven puts his hands on either side of the face of his new babysitter, as if he is taking the measure of her as a person.

The question remains, however, is what is the film's attitude toward autism, itself? Undoubtedly, this film very strongly asserts that autistic children have the right to everything neurotically children have. It also makes the argument that autistic children can display incredible abilities such as Phillip's guitar playing, Steven's prowess at cross-country, and both brothers' skills at chess, astronomy, geography, etc. etc.

But at the very end it notes the foundation Corinne Morgan founded, Miracle Run, has as its goal finding a _cure_ for autism. Obviously, the situation Corinne finds herself in at the beginning of the film, with two low functioning children, no assistance from the educational system and indifference and fear from everyone else, is not a positive one, nor one we, as a society, should allow to be perpetuated.

Yet, does this film say autistic people should be cured of the remarkable capabilities they display? Hans Asperger, the pediatrician who discovered the syndrome I have, never viewed it as a negative. In the final analysis, "Miracle Run" seems to contradict everything else it seems to be saying.

If that is the final message of this film, however, it does not make it well, and perhaps, it is more obligatory than heartfelt. The film's final message seems to be more about the triumph of the Morgan twins and the "overcoming many obstacles" Steven speaks of in the speech he gives in the film's last scene.

Speaking about other pluses of this film, its central focus is Mary Louise Parker, who plays Corinne Morgan. Not unlike the way she plays Ruth Jamison in "Fried Green Tomatoes," Parker displays an inner radiant strength, endless determination, a sense of humor, and dominance without being overbearing. The actors who play the Morgan twins as teenagers also give riveting performances, particularly Zac Efron as Steven. Efron shows great presence and manages to portray a high functioning autistic without his acting becoming mechanical. Not only does he engage our sympathy, he has us rooting for him throughout the film, something that helps the film to work so well.

The film's music is also something that caught my attention. Every so often an otherworldly chromatic theme steps in that seems to represent the Morgans' qualities of being both different and transcendent. It underlines every moment of aspiration in the film for both brothers, and at the end, with Steven's amazing first race as a cross-country runner, it is transformed into music of exultation.

This is an amazing film.

Mrs. Morgan loses the man in her life when her twin boys are diagnosed with autism. He just can't handle this and has her leave home with the boys. Officials want them institutionalized, but Corrine, played excellently by Mary Louise Parker, has other ideas. She fights the system all the way to secure an education for the boys.

Parker conveys a level headed woman's frustration in fighting the system. Her performance is believable.

When the school district is forced to act, a special education tutor is provided. While he works wonders with the boys,funding to pay him dries up. He has taught Corrine how to deal with her sons and miraculously, by the next scene, several years has passed and the boys are teenagers pursuing the guitar, running, geography, astronomy and other activities. How they achieve so rapidly is conveniently omitted. With this omission, the film does not fail as it is inspiring and faithful to the human spirit.

As a parent of an autistic child, I was extremely impressed by all the actors who portrayed the autistic boys. They certainly had me convinced that they were autistic! They should win awards for their work! Some of their behaviors were very similar to my child's. Mary Louise Parker and Aidan Quinn were also amazing. I was very moved by the entire movie, and I cried a lot (which I knew I would), but I also felt very inspired. This movie confirmed what my husband and I already knew--that autism doesn't have to be a sentence and that these children have dreams that they CAN achieve. I know our child will! We feel very blessed! I'm ready to see it again!