Les Miracles n’ont lieu qu’une fois is a French film first released in 1951, directed by Yves Allégret.  The film stars Alida Valli, Jean Marais, Marcelle Arnold, Christine Chesnay and Charles Rutherford.  It has also been released under the title: Miracles Only Happen Once.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


Late one evening in a Parisian bar, Jérôme rakes over his memories and begins to tell his sad life story to the attentive bar owner.  It begins in 1939, when Jérôme, 22, has just completed the second year of his studies in medicine.  He has his whole life before him and he is ready to take a vacation.  He thinks only of Claudia, an Italian girl and fellow student, but so far he has never had the courage to speak to her.  This bright sunny day Jérôme decides to pay her a call at the small hotel where she is staying.  For the young man, the realisation that Claudia loves him is a miracle, the kind that only ever happens once in a lifetime.  When Claudia says she must return to her home village in Tuscany, Jérôme follows her there and the two spend an idyllic summer together.  Neither of them believes that anything could ruin their future happiness together.  This was before a voice came onto the radio to announce that war had just been declared...
© Willems Henri (Brussels, Belgium)

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