El secreto de Milagro

I enjoyed this movie, and had never heard of it before I watched it for a class. I was amazed that I hadn't, given the number of stars in it. Christopher Walken, John Heard and Melanie Griffith before they were big names. What I loved most about the film though, was its ambiguity about the extent of "true" magic in the New Mexican town of Milagro. The very fact that the town is named Milagro, Spanish for miracle, suggests a magical quality about the town. Many things happen that could be explained rationally, but are not clarified or suggest the supernatural. When the water from the local river owned by Devine's Miracle Valley site accidentally flows into the Mondragon bean field, ghosts are at work. When Amarante, the oldest man in the village is talking to saints and angels, other people see a senile old man and never imagine that he truly could be talking to ghosts apparent to his eyes only. When crosses mentioning "El Brazo Onofre," the thieving trickster of local lore, Devine and his men assume that its the work of dissenting townspeople, though no one ever admits to the crime or is implicated in any way. These ordinary forms of magic show a charmingly realistic depiction of the supernatural. Even the music, beautifully scored by the talented Dave Gruisin suggests a mysterious air. The music sounds like carnival music, alternating from major to minor keys suddenly and ethereally, just as the elements of nature and reality contort to suit the needs of the "miracle town."