Customer Reviews

The Miracle of the Cards

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The acting begins on the solid footing of an adorable "poster child" eight-year boy who develops a deadly brain tumor. This boy's charm alone would have garnered the film three stars.

The mother and father could have been his real parents--they played their parts so naturally. Mom won't give up when treatment becomes more aggressive and less likely to succeed. Dad believes it is best to be realistic and make the boy's last days comfortable and peaceful. Additionally, the struggle over pursuing "the miracle in the cards" was most realistic.

The main physician, Dr. Middleton, proved a master at being a compassionate but professional medical man, while communicating with a mother who believes he is destined to save her apparently doomed child.

Richard Thomas may not conjur up an image of brain surgeon in most people's minds, but he did play the role of counseling the sick child and his parents well. Perhaps he came across more as a hospital chaplain than a surgeon. Nevertheless, the role worked, and rounded out the story smoothly.

Finally, there is Kirk Cameron as the skeptical "hard news" journalist assigned to a feature story. He seems most comfortable in the role of feature journalist--much more than his attempts at hard news, such as in the Left Behind movie. He does not pan out as much of a skeptic. Nevertheless, his role added a sweet touch, that closed the film nicely.

Concerning the plot, there is a fair amount of tension in this film--though it aims more to inspire than tease. Towards the end, I started to wonder if there was ever going to be an upward turn in this downward spiraling medical tale. Then, right at the end there is the abrupt medical update...one I will not divulge. My one complaint is that the ending came rather suddenly--though the actual story may have been the same.

The bottom line is that this is a sweet, inspirational tale of a rather unique miracle. The acting is realistic, and you will conclude your viewing with a smile.

The reason I watched this film is because I have a connection with the real story. For me thats always what makes this film real and brings back many memories. Sadly I did think the acting at times was a little less than desirable and those english accents were poor at times, although the story behind the film will pull me back to watch it again and again. Actually quite funny for me seeing Carshalton portrayed as such an American town!! Its nothing like that in real life - our door numbers rarely go past the hundreds in England!! The DVD is better than the VHS purley due to the extras - Craig is 25 now and fit and well and its nice to hear him on the DVD. For anyone who liked the film Marion Shergold released a book many years back called 'a mothers story'. Thats a very good read and I would recommend it highly!!

I was compelled to watch this movie after I read 2 reviews on this site stating it was an Insult to God, that this Mother gave all her glory to the Cards, stating the movie should be thrown in the trash & ends with scriptures -- Then an earlier review saw only Hypocrisy. I'm thinking, WHAT??!! A movie like this, I just had to take a look! As a Christian myself (obviosly not the kind they are, what would they have done - given their son a sermon every day while he laid in the hospital bed ?). I DID NOT see this Mother giving GLory to the cards at all, I counted the times she thanked God, and they were MANY ...What I seen was a Mother who was guided, who believed, who hoped, who dared to do whatever it took to save her son's life (which is love), she saw the light in his eyes when he opened his cards, he believed all those people sending cards were praying for him, this gave him Hope/Encouragement -which his Doctor ordered the parents to give him, what he NEEDED. How can one not see God (or inspiration) at work in this? Life is full of wonderful things in wonderful unexpected ways, even in the midst of some of the chaos, He is there. This card campaign -which spanned the globe- might have led to a Guinness Book World record, but the more important thing was it led to a Doctor in the United States who was able to perform the surgery to save his life. So God Used the "Cards", or He allowed the Card Campaign to be used to bring these important people into this child's life-to save Him. What could be more glorious than that, what Joy to these parents, what answered prayer. It's an incredible story, and it's TRUE--which makes it even better! Funny thing is, all these years later, those crazy cards are still coming, thanks to some chain letters on the internet that just won't die. I think all of us should be this sensitive to what gives OUR CHILDREN hope/encouragement in a time such as this.

I saw this movie on PAX and thought it was excellent movie. I like true stories and they are really great when you get a tear or two.

It's become apparent to me that the Christian Movie Genre has gone unnoticed by a great many Christians. This true story of this 8 year old boy should be seen by anyone who is looking for faith and hope. At first glance one might think that the story of a kid receiving over a million cards is nice, but not worth sitting through. Wrong on both counts! I put off seeing it for these reasons, and when I finally saw it I now put it up there among my favorite Christian movies. This is a well scripted, professionally filmed movie. The acting is superb. The story moves right along at a good clip and at the end - the hardest among us will probably have teary eyes and a feeling of love and caring that we never had before. Understanding this movie is sort of like flexing a muscle that has never been flexed before. And its done by suddenly realizing that God is there. He just doesn't flaunt it, and He is working in such a way that will benefit the most.

This is a great inspiring movie based on a true story. The cast is perfect and the movie reminds us that God is still in the miracle business! Throughly worth your time to watch this one! There are interviews with the cast members as a bonus feature!

I happened to just be browsing yesterday at Border's and found this unknown (to me) film. Apparently it was produced by PAX. I figured anything with Kirk Cameron in it ought to be worthwhile. I had no idea that what makes this movie is the inspiring story of a little british boy who has a brain tumor and the never waivering faith of his mother who sets out with help from many (and the shining light of God's presence) to give her son the will to fight and to live and know that he will be cured! Based on a true story, the film is replete with an unforgettable musical score, top notch direction and marvelous performances by the entire cast! It is not over-sentimentally sappy and never preachy. It is a honest depiction of God's incredbile working power! The one negative review in this forum is obviously from one cynical viewer who has missed the point of the entire film. Believe the four and five star reviews on this one folks. This is indeed a beautiful and inspiring film!

When I learned the premise that The Miracle of the Cards is based on, that discovery was met with an inward groan. Here it is: a young boy with a brain tumor, not likely to survive, wants to break the Guinness Book of World Records count for receiving get-well cards. I was glad to see that the movie is based on a true story, at least, and not some urban legend or internet hoax.

The story is told mostly through flashbacks during a sceptical reporter's interviews with the young patient's parents. From the mother's nightmares of seeing her son in a coffin (which began before his first symptoms), to his hospitalization and diagnosis with a rare form of cancer and his pursuit of the record for most cards received, this sentimental story is worth watching if you can remind yourself that it is based on a true story and that it's not a sappy takeoff on an urban legend / internet hoax.

Good production values, a few solid performances and what could have been a more compelling story line are unfortunately offset somewhat by a premise that has been defamed by internet hoaxes and by the length of the film at 89 minutes. Whether or not an hour and a half was needed to tell this story is debatable, but when a movie feels too long, it probably is.

I saw this movie last night PAX TV and I couldn't take my eyes off it .My eyes were glued too the screen all night ,when I woke up next morning I thout hummm ..maybe it's a movie on video also two hours later I got the feeling too go upstairs and search Amazon .com and right there was The Miracle Of The Cards VHS I was so histatic ! I can't wait till Christmas ,oh boy !

I watched this film when travelling and without much choice. The story is a sweet one and, unlike some reviewers, I thought that the kid's acting was fairly good; though nothing like as good as in "Love Actually" a couple of years later.
I'm not religious, I'm English and I am proud of the UK's National Health Service. This means I'm not the natural target for this film.
The production values are not good. Another reviewer commented that the town that was supposed to be in England was unconvincing. I can only assume that the director has never visited the UK, or was too lazy of budget strapped to get the basics right. Or perhaps they never expected it to be seen outside the US.
If you're a US citizen who has a strong Christian faith, hasn't travelled much, is happy to take without any evidence the assertion that UK hospitals are dirty places where people rarely get better, this might be the film for you. If you have some knowledge of relevant facts (eg UK life expectancy exceeds US), you will probably find it heavy going. The core problem for me was this though; if God were stepping in to cure this kid, why did he need to go to the US for private treatment in the first place? It's a logical self-contradiction at the core of the film that I just couldn't step around.
I think that there's something to irritate the whole family in here. Christians can be irked at how the film attributes his recovery to the cards instead of God. Medics can be irritated that their efforts were attributed to divine intervention instead of their hard work and professionalism. UK health professionals will probably find the whole thing insufferable and insulting.
It has a few touching moments, but best appreciated if you're willing to suspend as much disbelief as when watching "Star Wars".