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Third Miracle, The
Sony Pictures Classics


6.0

based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 2 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for some language, sex-related and violent images, and brief drug use

Starring Ed Harris, Anne Heche, and Armin Mueller-Stahl

A priest (Harris), struggling with his faith, is sent by the Vatican to verify some miracles performed by a woman who has been nominated for sainthood.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Richard Vetere (also novel) John Romano
DIRECTED BY:	Agnieszka Holland
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 13, 2000 Video: June 13, 2000 Theatrical: December 29, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	119 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

An earthy, sexy mystery.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Has the gritty, intimate feel of an Eastern European film--and packs the power of a genuine revelation.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Harris, Heche make unholy twosome.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Here is a rarity, a film about religion that is neither pious nor sensational, simply curious. No satanic possessions, no angelic choirs, no evil spirits, no lovers joined beyond the grave. Just a man doing his job.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

So profoundly does The Third Miracle live up to its title that Agnieszka Holland's exceptional meditation upon a priest's crisis of faith might win the endorsement of archdiocese and agnostic alike.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Harris and Heche make an interesting team--- and the picture reaps the benefit of their creative performances

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's a handsome film with a palpable core of piety, but it isn't as successful in depicting secular events as spiritual ones.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

This intelligent, well-acted movie is not helped by the fact that its story in some ways parallels that of "Stigmata," the trashy supernatural spookfest that flared briefly at the box office earlier this year.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Harris and Heche are simply electric together, and "Hill Street Blues'" Charles Haid is wonderfully brash as the venal bishop.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The problem with The Third Miracle is that it is thematically ambiguous and never lays out its position on whether it thinks saints are or are not real.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Suggests that finding one good priest is a feasibility, but it takes a miracle to meet one as hubba-hubba as Ed Harris.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

A foreign film feel despite its strong American cast.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A flawed drama offering a rare look at the Catholic Church's canonization process.

Miami Herald Phoebe Flowers

It's not particularly plausible or well-developed, but it does allow the two seasoned actors to share a sexually tense, vodka-fueled scene at Helen's grave.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Without offering any hard and fast solutions to the essential mystery, this is a thought provoking drama about the nature of belief and devotion that never feels exclusionary.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Takes on provocative and stimulating subject matter, but can't bring it into satisfying dramatic focus, stranding three strong actors who are superior to their material.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

This spiritual thriller is too wooden to be taken as seriously as was clearly intended.

Film.com Peter Brunette

The first half of The Third Miracle is very good...but the second half of the film, alas, turns into deep TV-mode.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

The first half has a nifty B-movie feel--it's a canny little movie with a big, big theme.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

Few other 1999 films are as filthy with tantalizing elements as Agnieszka Holland's The Third Miracle, and of those that come close, none other is as pointless, confused, or unsatisfying.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

A very competent film, but it barely pulls you in.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

It tries to be more existential than gumshoe but falls way short.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

I'd give this movie about half a miracle.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Pat C. gave it a 5:
Starts out kinda slow then fizzles out altogether. Similarly-premised movies have a feeling that the hand of God is a supporting player. That's not the same as being pretentious, which this film happily did not indulge in. But while it's no surprise if the clergy doesn't come across as credible, the lack of an omniscient being or indicators left me unconvinced the show was about anything really happening.

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Third Miracle, The Sony Pictures Classics

Third Miracle, The
Sony Pictures Classics