Expecting a Miracle 2009

Pete Stanhope Jason Priestley and Donna Stanhope Teri Polo are a young married couple living in Los Angeles who dream of starting a family, but infertility places strain on their relationship. Their attempt to find a fresh start leads them toward a vacation that soon spirals into an unexpected test of faith, resilience, and possibility.

Stranded in the small village of Dommatina after car trouble, they meet Pepillo Salazar Kevin Hernandez, a bright but troubled boy whose own life has been shaped by tragedy. Pepillo’s adult brother Juan [Shalim Ortiz], the village mechanic, and Magdalena [Rebeka Montoya], Juan’s fiancée who helps care for the village children, welcome them into a community that moves with the rhythms of a tightly knit, ceremonial life. At the heart of this life is Father Arturo [Cheech Marin], the village priest who is preparing the annual fiesta, a celebration built around a risky “flying machine” designed to lift a child into the air.

The legend behind the festival tells of a saint who befriended a crippled boy. In gratitude, the saint transformed the boy into a dove, the dove circled the plaza three times, and then returned him to human form, curing him in the process. Pepillo shares his own belief that the saint will cure him after his flight, a hope that threads through every preparation, every sketch of the contraption, and every conversation with Pete, Donna, and the villagers.

As the parts slow to arrive, Pete uses his engineering skill to build a safer flying machine for Pepillo and even sacrifices a car part that had finally arrived so that a crucial central axis will work. Pepillo’s chance to fly approaches, and he confides in Pete that he believes the saint’s blessing will extend beyond mere spectacle to a cure. Two days before the fiesta, Pepillo urges Father Arturo and a local helper to push the device to greater speeds and heights, testing the limits of the town’s risky tradition.

The flight goes awry when the machine strains past its design. Pepillo crashes to the plaza, striking his hip against the statue of the saint. When he awakens, his leg is miraculously healed. Pete and Donna interpret this as a genuine miracle and vow to take Pepillo to the United States to ensure the miracle remains safe and real.

Back in Los Angeles, the couple begins to reimagine their family. They decide to pursue adoption, and Pete discovers a capacity to love another child beyond the bond he already shares with Donna. Yet just as they begin to fill out the paperwork, Donna experiences heartburn and takes one last pregnancy test, revealing that she is pregnant against all odds. In a single arc of hope and promise, the journey from infertility to miracle, from loss to possible parenthood, comes full circle as the couple confronts what it means to build a family in a world where miracles can change everything.