The Passion of Michelangelo

Acclaimed Chilean director Esteban Larraín turns his attention to the true story of a street child who becomes a popular prophet, and of a people ready to give in, without questioning, to the luminous promise of a miracle. Chile, 1983. As the first street protests begin to pose a challenge for the Pinochet regime, 14-year-old orphan Miguel Ángel, who claims to see and talk to the Virgin Mary, is anointed as a prophet. His tormented face is endlessly reproduced in the media; within weeks, thousands are making a pilgrimage to his home village to take part in ceremonies involving visions and miracles of all kinds. Miguel Ángel himself undergoes a profound transformation, the shy boy becoming a clever, capricious teenager who uses his divine gift to manipulate others. The Church, however, cannot stand by. A priest, Father Ruiz Tagle, is sent to investigate the cult of the Virgin of Peñablanca. Miguel’s fate now seems uncertain...