JourneyOnline
(PG 2004)
Directed by: Martin Duffy
($19.95 on DVD or available for rental)
You’ll have to hunt through the local video store for this one. Small Miracles was originally released in 2000 as The Testimony of Taliesin Jones and won critical acclaim and numerous international film festival awards.
The coming of age of 12-year-old Taliesin Jones, complicated by bullying at school and family breakdown, becomes a spiritual quest after he witnesses his piano teacher heal a woman’s bad back.
Described by critic Michael Medved as "a film of uncommon grace and substance" Small Miracles is a warm and powerful story in the best of British film making tradition.
This excellent production features a brilliant performance by John-Paul Macleod, a young actor of extraordinary talent, who develops Taliesin into a convincing and remarkable character whose story tugs at the heartstrings.
The remarkable narrative is placed against a backdrop of the magnificent beauty and serenity of the Welsh countryside.
Most interesting of all is the respectful development of Christian spirituality without being preachy, overtly evangelical or forced. The film calmly affirms simple faith and tells of prayers that are sometimes answered.
Taliesin’s faith in God and in miracles receives little support from his parents or the local minister but remind us of the deep and mystical questioning that comes with the transition from childhood to adolescence.
Small Miracles is dedicated to Ian Bannen who died in a car crash shortly after giving his fine performance as Taliesin’s mentor, Billy Evans.
