The Miracle

Genre: Drama
Duration: 110 mins
Format: 35mm
Director: Alexander Proshkin
Cast: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Vitaly Kischenko, Polina Kutepova, Sergei Makovetskiy Awards: Special Jury Prize (Moscow International Film Festival '09)

Set in the year 1959 and based on a true story, The Miracle explores the notion of faith as the Soviet Union emerged from its most totalitarian and paranoid phase. Stalin is not long dead; Nikita Khrushchev has taken power. Tatiana, a young, attractive woman is suddenly frozen to one spot; she clutches the Icon of St Nicholas, is breathing, but otherwise immobile. Attempts by the local KGB officer and others to awaken Tatiana and remove her from where she stands, fail. Rumours of the frozen girl spread to Moscow. The locals believe it is a miracle and this question of faith prompts a political crisis for the Soviet bureaucrats. A cynical Moscow journalist, Nikolai Artemyev (Konstantin Khabenskiy (Admiral) is sent to investigate, while the local priest is threatened with the closure of his church if he preaches the event to be a miracle. Soviet national significance is at stake, and eventually even the General Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev himself, arrives to take charge in an attempt to remove the woman. Directed by Alexander Proshkin (The Captains Daughter) The Miracle explores a time when the only faith tolerated was faith in the Communist Party. A "captivating and powerful film…a film which delivered on its ultimate aim of capturing the viewers' subconscious," said Russian playwright, Pyotr Gladilin.