Joshua

Based on the first in a series of popular Christian novels by Father Joseph Girzone, Joshua is blessed with plenty of talent in front of the camera­--Tony Goldwyn, Giancarlo Giannini, Stacy Edwards, F. Murray Abraham--as well as behind (in particular, cinematographer Bruce Surtees, a frequent lenser of Clint Eastwood films), a combination that makes for a well-acted, polished-looking production. But the preachy plotline about a guy who shows up one day in the small Midwest town of Auburn, rebuilds the crumbling Baptist church, heals a blind woman, brings an accident victim back from the dead, and ultimately garners an audience with the Pope would need a miracle to convert viewers not already predisposed to heavy-handed parables in the form of religious dramas. Optional. (T. Rich)