Manna From Heaven

 

Picture: B     Sound: B-     Extras: B+     Film: B

 

 

2002’s film Manna From Heaven was as surprisingly good as it was surprisingly dull.  It’s another indie picture that does have some great elements such as plot, characters, interesting story, and development, but loses out in the execution and perhaps some production value.  It’s not a film that many people will particular love, but I think that those that give it a fair chance might find themselves impressed.

 

A family receives a large lump of money that falls from the sky, but no one knows where it came from, or whom it belongs to.  The family then decides to split the money and use it to ‘better’ their lives.  Then our story shoots 30 years later and we follow up with the family members once again, only to find that most of them have not really done much aside from just spending their chunk of change.  One of the family girls however, has become a nun and upon being such she has communication with God in which she feels compelled to get the family to return their money to a rightful owner.  The only problem is that the money is gone, so they rally together to have a fundraiser to get their money, which results in some hilarious moments for sure. 

 

The film is simple and fun, with a relatively surprising ending that will either make you squirm with delight or squirm in discomfort.  Whatever the case, this is still a better film that most of the junk that liters movie land these days. 

 

MGM’s DVD for the film is also a nice touch.  The film is presented in a 1.85 X 1 anamorphic transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.  Both are fairly average with a slightly soft picture that I have become accustom to with a lot of MGM titles.  The 5.1 mix here is very standard with most of the sound coming from the front sound stage.  The real treat with this disc though is the extras.

 

The film is directed by the duo Gabrielle and Maria Burton, who are on the commentary track and also give a Q&A session on the disc as well.  There is also a featurette, and deleted scenes, as well as a really funny bloopers section, followed by a photo gallery.  This is by far a really stacked DVD considering it’s an indie film.  Also this is one of the better films to receive such extras, usually you don’t get the best of both worlds.

 

 

-   Nate Goss