Blue Miracle is based on the under-reported story of an orphanage in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, that was struggling for money even before the devastating Hurricane Odile in 2014. Finances then went from bad to impossible, causing Omar (Jimmy Gonzales) to do something he hates: ask for help.
In the film he finds himself at the local headquarters of Bisbee’s, a company known for its high-stakes fishing tournaments. Also affected by the hurricane, they decide to waive fees for local fishermen in order to ensure the competition still takes place as semi-normal. Omar is forced into teaming up with grizzled two-time winner Wade (Quaid), who reluctantly lets him and some of the kids on the boat, aiming for the $250,000 prize.
Directed by Julio Quintana, a mentee and collaborator of Terrence Malick, Blue Miracle might not be what one expects from that description (it’s a proudly mainstream 95-minute family movie) but it does possess the vague remnants of that relationship.
Within the constraints of his straightforward material, Quintana demonstrates a visual language that speaks less to his inexperience as a director (it’s only his second film) and more to his master tutelage, first with the lived-in neon-hued streets of the town but then, most obviously, with the remarkable vistas surrounding it as we head out on the water. The scale of the film separates it from the majority of the streamer’s often pedestrian originals, transporting us in a way that helps distract from some of the more rote moments.
Quintana and co-writer Craig Dowling’s script is formula 101, without a beat you won’t see coming, and while it mostly goes down well enough, there are a few character shifts that feel a little overly expedited, some emotional wins that feel unearned, and while the predictable finale is undeniably rousing, it moves us enough to feel a little jolted by the abruptness with which it then ends.
Gonzales makes for a charming lead, a warm, paternal foil to Quaid’s grumpy captain and absent father, the two wrestling with opposing definitions of masculinity and how to properly teach young boys without parents how to process hardship and competition. Quaid has been leaning into his age of late as he edges toward his 70s, after playing a get-off-my-lawn psycho in The Intruder, and he makes for an effective grouch here, his elder years suggesting Eastwood-lite character work to come.
Blue Miracle is a 2021 American drama film directed by Julio Quintana from a screenplay by Quintana and Chris Dowling. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Jimmy Gonzales, Raymond Cruz, Anthony Gonzalez, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Fernanda Urrejola and Bruce McGill. It was released by Netflix on May 27, 2021.
Blue Miracle (2021)
Directed by: Julio Quintana
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jimmy Gonzales, Anthony Gonzalez, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Fernanda Urrejola, Bruce McGill, Miguel Angel Garcia, Frank Gallegos, Fernando Nicolas
Screenplay by: Chris Dowling, Julio Quintana
Production Design by: Mailara Santana
Cinematography by: Santiago Benet Mari
Film Editing by: Sandra Adair
Set Decoration by: Lucas Demasi, Sharlyn Navarro
Art Direction by: María Fernanda Sabogal
Music by: Hanan Townshend
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: May 27, 2021
Visits: 34
