Saint Ralph (2004)

The Best Movie In The World!

I have seen thousands of movies and this is the best movie ever made. This movie will inspire you and touch your spirit. I love putting this movie on the background when I am working. God I love this movie. If you only see one movie in your life this is it!!! September 16, 2008

Perfect Little Gem of a Movie

The foundation of this movie is the formulaic underdog story, but formula aside, this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, and much of the credit goes to Adam Butcher and Campbell Scott. Adam Butcher is a marvel, and it's worth watching the movie just see him on the screen inhabiting the character of Ralph Walker. This is not a movie that relies on special effects, marketing hype and overpaid superstars. It's a charming and entertaining character dramedy that will leave you reaching for that box of kleenex.

And it's not a preachy film. Although it may resonate more with Catholics, the "faith" theme in this movie transcends specific denominations and is really more about personal faith and transformation. June 10, 2008

A Plucky Fourteen -Year-Old in the Boston Marathon

Saint Ralph, a plucky fourteen-year-old Canadian kid, has lost his father and grandparents, his mother's in a coma, he's living in the family home on his own, is attending a Catholic school run by brothers, and decides that he will perform a miracle in order to pull his mother out of her coma. The miracle is that he will run in and win the Boston Marathon. Father Fitzpatrick, the school's inflexible headmaster, right out of stock casting, is determined to foil Ralph until the very end. Luckily a priest-teacher at the school trains the boy in marathon techniques. Much of the movie shows the boy training. Tireless but tiresome for viewers.
The movie has a great deal of religiosity and piety in it which may be off-putting for some, but it also has a measure of humor. Ralph seems to be always falling down in the movie. It has more than its share of clichés and stereotypes, and an old-fashioned quality, but because it is set in 1954, contemporary viewers may forgive such lapses. Heartwarming, uplifting, at times a tearjerker, the movie somehow holds our interest, and we can't help rooting for Ralph. Santa Claus is somehow blended with God in the boy's mind, but only a Scrooge would condemn the movie outright.
Nine Lives Too Many
The Daemon in Our Dreams
The Rice Queen Spy
Clawed Back from the Dead June 5, 2008

A Hidden Gem

I just discovered Saint Ralph a couple of month ago as I was walking through the independent film section of the video story. I knew nothing of it, had no expectations and was wonderfully surprised. It is now, to date, my favorite movie. It is bound to be (if it isn't already) one of those great cult classics. May 14, 2008

A funny movie that only a Catholic could enjoy and find humorous!

I thought it was a very sweet and inspiring movie. It's something that a family with teenagers can watch and laugh about because this kid is going through his teenage boyhood while throwing in some humorous quirky notions (That all teenagers see and do at that age) along the way. It was positive and upbeat considering the plot was a little morose about his family life. But, the attitude of this kid was that through tough times, faith pulled him through and what Christian parent wouldn't want to have their kids laugh while learning a lesson like that?

May 11, 2008

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