A Review: ‘The Blinking Madonna’
Written by Chris Cooke | Posted by: Anonymous
Filmmaker Beth Harrington
In "The Blinking Madonna & Other Miracles," filmmaker Beth Harrington takes a look at the way the event has shaped her life. First, though, she playfully and imaginatively reenacts her childhood years in Catholic school, with the help of a "cuter-than-she-ever-was" stand-in, an inspirational nun, and an ex-Navy cigar-smoking priest. Half-Irish and half-Italian, she grows up Catholic during the Kennedy years. She fosters an early fascination with the Madonna and a suspicion that Catholics hold a special position in the world. All of this, as expected, she slowly leaves by the wayside as news from the outside world encroaches, at times violently, on her imagination. By the time she is grown, she finds herself living entirely in her time rather than for the afterlife. As an adult, she moves from the suburbs to Boston’s North End, an emancipated Modern Woman. Here, she struggles, socially and spiritually, between dual urges-her skeptical desire to distance herself from her Catholic Italian neighbors and a deeper need to belong and believe. And the Blinking Madonna’s arrival on the scene brings her conflict to the forefront.
The tone of the film is pleasant and relaxedHarrington doesn’t create any miracles here, just relates her discoveries about life’s twists and turns in a charming, engaging way. It’s a film with a good heart and a healthy respect for life’s little miracles.
But what about the big miracle? you ask. Does the Madonna really blink? Is it a sign from above, or just a trick of the lens? It’s ironic that even a miracle, a supposed unmistakable proof, can be hard to recognize. The clip gets shown, of course-several times, in real-time and slo-mo, and I’ve come to my own conclusions. I guess youll have to see for yourself.
To purchase or rent a copy of "The Blinking Madonna & Other Miracles" visit http://www.newday.com/films/The_Blinking_Madonna.html