Small Miracles

Taliesin Jones, the triumphant first film from Tulsa-based Impact Entertainment to see a national release, differs from mainstream Hollywood films in three ways. First, its character-driven, which means that the actors have to carry the film by showing character development and growth, instead of dodging bullets and explosions. Second, its about a thought-provoking philosophical concept  in this case, the existence and nature of God  which most movies dont even both with anymore. Third, the way it handles that concept sets Jones apart from other films that attempt the same, and ultimately fail.

Jones, from a book by the same name by Welsh author Rhidian Brook, follows its title character (newcomer John-Paul Macleod), a 12-year-old from a broken home in working-class Wales. His father scrapes out a living by farming, and Taliesin alternately dodges abuse from his bullying older brother and his classmates at school. Taliesins life is changed when, during his piano lessons, his elderly teacher Billy (the late Ian Bannen in his last role) introduces Billy to faith-healing. Soon, Taliesin tries the power of prayer on himself and is miraculously cured of warts. Building a community around faith-healing, Tals belief in this newfound concept of God is shattered when his activities nearly lead to the death of a local diabetic boy. Afterwards, Taliesin begins to re-examine what he believes and, more importantly, why he believes what he does.

The fact that Jones postulates an answer to one of lifes ultimate philosophical questions isnt unique, but what sets it apart is that the movie fails to cave in to simplistic, sound-byte style philosophy. Those who have done any amount of philosophical inquiry know that lifes truths cannot be summarized in a quick quote or a simple phrase, and to do so wrecks the beautiful inquiry that makes discovering those truths so unique. Unlike other recent Christian movie-fare, like Left Behind and The Omega Code, Taliesin Jones offers the audience a journey of experience, and one that it doesnt necessarily shove down peoples throats, either. Although God is certainly the focus of the film, a belief in a Christian God is just one possible explanation for what happens, and Taliesins personal concept of God develops in a way that leads him from the trappings of religious immaturity to the makings of an adult.

Most movies cannot manage to even get the sound-byte philosophy right in two-hours-plus; Jones manages to encapsulate one possible philosophical experience in its brief 95 minutes. For those of us tired of movies that simply pander and cater, Taliesin Jones is a refreshing break from the mainstream. The film wouldnt have come together without the strength of the actors involved, and the levels of talent that fully realize the characters is also a relief a movie environment increasingly ruled by cardboard stereotypes. Taliesin Jones is not a film to miss.

This film has much to recommend it to both Christians and non-Christians as it tackles the issues of faith and what happens to that faith when things don't work out the way a person wants them to.

At first Taliesin isn't sure why he believes in God, but he knows that he does believe. Then he sees what he considers to be tangible evidence of God in the form of miracles,especially the healing of his own warts, only to have those miracles cease and his faith thrown into crisis. This movie exposes the view of 'God as a vending machine' that many people seem to have today. They believe that a person can put in his 75 cents worth of prayer and his miracle should be released to him. Thankfully, Taliesin's piano teacher, a faith 'healer', readily admits that his prayers don't always work, though that doesn't mean that God doesn't listen or doesn't care. The fact is that if God did heal someone or resurrect a person every time He was asked to, then no one would ever die.

True faith means living with the fact of troubles in life and the awareness of our eventual death, and yet still believing that God is good, cares for us, and has made provision for both our earthly and eternal lives through Jesus. Taliesin's true healing, and the bigger miracle, is when he comes to realize these things and is able to come to grips with the fact that his mother will not be returning to the family. I think the filmmakers may have missed out on an attempt to emphasize this point again with the final scene. In this scene the class bully asks Taliesin to pray for the healing of one of his fingers which was half-severed off. The viewer gets the idea that the bully also has emotional scars which need healing far worse than his finger does; however, I admit that to protract this scene and re-emphasize a point already made might well have been heavy-handed (or even ham-handed), so I can't fault them too much for this.

The bottom line, again, is that for both believers and non-believers, this movie demonstrates what faith is: it is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

I became totally absorbed in the movie the moment I began to watch it. For fear of revealing to much and ruining it for you, let me just say your heart will be warmed and you might even become a better person for watching this terrific piece of cinematic wonder. Highly Recommended!!!

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