The Maldonado Miracle
Review by Lee Shoquist for Reel Movie Critic
HH1/2
Cast
Peter Fonda	Father Russell
Mare Winningham	Maisie
Ruben Blades	Cruz
Eddy Martin	Jose
Directed by Salma Hayek. A drama. A Showtime Networks Production. Not rated. Running time: 98 minutes.

Salma Hayek's first film as a director, a quiet, sentimental picture named The Maldonado Miracle, is a minor yet intermittently effective piece of predictability, that doesn't really work on its own terms but, as the sum of its parts, contains some good performances and some decent moments.

Nothing much happens in San Ramos, a quiet border town that's dying by the day and has a population less than 400. But when a local woman discovers a bleeding Jesus in the local church, the town and its residents experience a rebirth of sorts, with a population flood of tourists, media and curiosity seekers filling its small streets to get a glimpse of the "miracle." Reserved Father Russell (Peter Fonda) is cautiously optimistic about the phenomenon,

At the same time, eleven-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant Jose (Eddy Martin) has arrived in town, looking for his wayward father. Jose, stuck in an awful migrant worker situation at a young age, has been wounded and is on the run with his faithful dog Sanchez. He takes refuge in the church rafters, and gradually ventures out into the town. His arrival, timed with the bleeding Christ, serve as the catalyst for all kinds of fairly obvious change and "miracles" to be revealed.

As usually happens in these "colorful" small-town films, the action is principally set around the town diner, where local folk gather to spout off "colorful" dialogue to the tune of a good, lonely-heart waitress. In this case, the great actress Mare Winningham turns in a performance better than her role.

The approach is simplistic, not subtle. But there's some good humor to be had here, particularly with the local woman who "discovers" the miracle, and some witty behavioral quirks of a few of the locals. A bit heavy-handed at times, and its portrait of an undocumented child on the run from immigration is certainly far from the best we've seen in the movies - but the objective here is not realism by any means. This is a connect-the-dots experience, but one done with the sincerity of a first-time director focused on getting the story told, and the professionalism of a few good actors in his service.

The cinematography nicely captures the dusty mood of the small town, and the score is actually lovely. As for the acting, the standout is Winningham, with Peter Fonda a bit stiff as the reticent town priest, and lonely bar-owner Ruben Blades figuring nicely as Winningham's unlikely suitor.