The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima

In 1917, in a village near Fatima in Portugal, three shepherd children say they have seen a woman in a cloud. The anti-clerical government of the day finds such reports dangerous and puts pressure on the children. They do not go back on what they said. At the last apparition thousands of people gather on the hillside, and what happened there is remembered in Catholic belief as the miracle of Fatima. Directed by John Brahm, the film tells the events from the point of view of those who believe, and it does not hide that. The pressure from the state, the doubts of the villagers and the fear of the families all find a place in it, and the children are shown as children rather than as symbols. What the events were is a matter of faith, and the film does not open that to argument. The telling is calm, unshowy and keeps the children at the centre.