Miracle on Highway 34

The miracle is the telling of the miracle. The story subtly blends reality with miracle that I was not sure where one ended and the other began. This story has the power to change lives.

I watched this movie even though I disliked the trailer because I am always routing for Nathan and the whole Clarkson clan. However nice the premise of this film, the execution was severely lacking. It felt very impatient and lacking attention to detail. For example, none of the landscape scenes made sense to me as far as their placement. I was confused as to why they were there. And the main actress' eyes were half closed most of the time. She finally opened her eyes fully toward the end of the movie, she really had been squinting the whole time! Did no one else notice this? It bothered me quite a lot and was very distracting. Also, the mood of the lighting seemed to contradict the warm feeling the writing was supposed to impart. Even there, the ideas of the story were nice but the writing was clunky and disingenuous. Films should either be comprised of lines you can see yourself or others saying, or say something so beautiful or insightful you wish you had said it. This was neither, and was unfortunately just awkward. Finally, the love and reverence for the Christmas story was more assumed than shown. Since the director was a Christian I was hoping more reverence for the Christmas story would come through as well as some attempt to share why it mattered to him. In this and many other parts of the film, there was a lack of clarity. I am still routing for you Nathan and I hope to resonate more with the next one!

The premise is fine, although the title made me expect something more skin to Miracle on 34th Street. Instead, we got a movie more of a modern take on the original Christmas story. At 71 minutes, it still feels too long and slow. There are nice moments, but the script, direction, and acting drag the whole production down. I wanted to like this (the waitress and trucker have some nice moments) but in the end, to holes left unfilled left me wanting.

Surprisingly. Wasn't a horror film. The film was shot with a dark atmosphere and a light warming ending. My guess is the cinema photographer wanted to make some tense feeling scenes. Well done.

Feeling like you want a lift? Sit down. Pour a cup of hot tea. Grab a blanket. Get comfy and enjoy the movie! It's not a big Hollywood blockbuster just a simple thoughtful generous warm movie. Sweet.