The Miracle of P. Tinto (El milagro de P. Tinto) (NR)

synopsis

With three new features in this year's World Cinema program, Spain has emerged as a hotbed of innovative young talent. And spiking the mix for the Spanish contingent is Javier Fesser's rapturously absurdist comedy, P. Tinto's Miracle. As it lambasts the screen with its kinetic cuts and sharp invention, the only thing controlled about P. Tinto is Fesser's uncanny mastery over his craft (all the more impressive, given this is his debut feature). Spewing hip irreverence and stylistic wizardry, Fesser's hand ultimately evinces a gentle heart and a generous empathy for his kooky characters. Over generations, a long line of P.Tintos have continued the twin traditions of raising hyper-extended families and producing communion wafers for the Catholic Church. After marrying his sight-impaired childhood sweetheart, Olivia, the youngest P. Tinto sets about fulfilling his directives and moves to a remote valley to prepare for the arrival of baby P. Tintos. But after fifty years of fervent "procreation" and two visitations from the Northbound Express, Olivia is still without child. What's a boy (or in this case, a seventy-year-old man) to do but pray to St. Nicholas, St. Anthony, or the stars for a stork to come? With its eccentric cast of alien and human curmudgeons of varied shapes and sizes, P. Tinto's Miracle blazes a trail of originality, charm, and infectious silliness. And if you're curious about the short at the film's onset, by the end you'll witness its incorporation into Fesser's joyfully effervescent whole.