If you want to get a really heated discussion going with family, friends or co-workers just bring up religion. This is such a personal topic and one that many people are passionate about that there is sure to be a lot of disagreement going on when it enters a conversation. Religion has been at the heart of some of the most compassionate acts mankind is capable of as well as a good number of the most heinous events imaginable. Wars and peace have all been achieved with religion sited as a contributing factor. Since religion is a fundamental part of the human experience it has found its way into the stories shown on film. One of the latest to hit DVD is ‘Tortilla Heaven’ by Judy Hecht Dumontet. It is a comedy that is based on a part of religion that is highly controversial and often in the news. Every so often you see a piece on the evening news about a person who found the image of the Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich or Jesus Christ in a water stain on their garage. The result is typically hundreds or even thousands of people coming to the site to worship and plead for divine intervention. Images like this are seen as miracles by some, coincidences by many and out right frauds by others. The film is a gentle family comedy that is constructed in such a way as to appeal to the audience rather than the critical community. A review is supposed to consider the effectiveness of the cinematic techniques that were employed. It is part of what is expected and a necessary part of deciding the quality of the film under consideration. Then there is the other side to the equation; how the audience will respond to the movie. This flick is an example of a case where there is more than its share of technical gaffs but the film is fun to watch. Some times you have to throw the film school guidelines to the wind and create something that will bring a laugh or two to the faces of the viewers. With a potentially emotionally charged topic as in used here reason is not as important as the effect it has on those watching it. You can make up you own mind now that the movie is available on DVD though Anchor Bay.

Dumontet wrote the screenplay with Julius Robinson based on a story by Mitchell Leib. Both Leib and Robinson have much more experience in the musical side of film than the scripts. Dumonetet is making her initial foray into writing with this project. The story looks at a small town where the least likely man to witness a miracle finds a tortilla with the image on Jesus on it. There are several sub plots at work here that occasionally sidetrack the viewers from the central themes. A few are subtle though. When you think a being visited by a miracle most would think God would reward the faithful, not the only man in town who shuns church services. There is the undercurrent that many people think when confronted with a news story like this. God should be too busy to burn holy images in food. Why would a person’s faith hinge on brown marks on a potato chip, grilled cheese sandwich or even a tortilla? Miracles are a big part of most faiths since mankind first began to worship. There is a human need to believe in someone who is responsible for life. Often at odds with this is the way people want proof. The Bible calls faith the expectation of things unseen yet many people either need or are sustained by a tangible miracle. This is what is interesting with this movie. It takes a humorous look at faith with the variations in how people express their beliefs. Some of the dialogue here is outright silly bordering on the inane. It might be best to go into the movie as a farce instead of straightforward comedy.

Dumontet has one other film to her credit as a director, a drama. It is somewhat of a daring move to go from that to a comedy about faith. She does well in pacing the film with the miracle occurring fairly early, This shifts the focus of the movie from the actual miracle to where it belongs; the reaction of the people. She tries to make this a character driven movie but the way the script is craft the story is motivated by situations with broadly painted people involved. Dumontet compensates to a degree by providing sufficient amount of set up to pull it off. The cinematography by Chuy Chávez is at times inspired and beautiful. The setting in New Mexico is breathtaking. When the action moves to the little town the camera loses some of the impact but still is visually compelling.

The town of Falfurrias, New Mexico has a total population of only 73 where everybody knows each other. Every Sunday the church bell is rung, by someone climbing a ladder to hit it with a rock. 72 people go to attend the service, in one case the family pet pig evern tags along. The one blasphemous holdout is the chef of the local restaurant, Isidor (José Zúñiga). He sleeps on dreaming of recipes and ingredients while Father Pancracio (Marcelo Tubert) holds mass in town. Isidor wants his restaurant to be more popular but that would take a highway passing through town and the resultant tourist trade. When Isidor finally gets out of bed the pig has made a mess in the kitchen and now he has to remake the tortilla. As the town folk are receiving communion Isidor is having some troubles with getting the dough right. Finally he gets one formed and throws it on the grill. Isidor’s wife comes back to help him prepare to open as the dough continues to cook. Slowly a face begins to form on the tortilla. Neighbors and family start to enter the restaurant. The scene where the bread is being passed around the table, the miraculous piece on the bottom, is drawn out a little too much here but this is consistent with the timing of the movie. The audience has to have some amount of anticipation. Finally it is discovered and the town goes wild. There are a few ancillary miracles attributed to the holy tortilla and hopes that it will cure a sick boy in the community. Isidore, and many of the town folk, hopes that an influx of people on a pilgrimage to see the miracle will result in the pave road that everybody wants.

There are many excellent actors here and unfortunately they are underutilized. George Lopez is one of the funniest comedians around but here has little to showcase his abilities. Lupe Ontiveros is perfect as the over sexed older woman after every available man in town. The cast does as well as possible with a script that doesn’t offer much for them. The film is fun to watch and is suitable for the whole family.