capsule : john the baptist is sent from heaven to see is the world is worth saving .
he must find some sign of hope in the people of newfoundland .
this is little more than a tv skit in movie form .
it is watchable and apparently will be released to theaters in canada , but it is unlikely to be seen on the international market .
it is diverting but hardly a serious piece of cinema .
, 0 ( -4 to +4 ) minor spoilers in this review .
– written and directed by john w . doyle .
– john the baptist sent to st . john , newfoundland .
gets an invitation to live with a family .
that extraordinary hospitality for some reason does not count as a reason for hope .
– script has a lot of holes .
– friend who adopts john is surprisingly militant and is planning actions to destabilize wall street .
– john does look middle eastern , but somehow one expects john the baptist to be more dramatic .
– there is a conspiracy in the vatican riding on the result of the visit , though that result seems small compared to the end of the world .
– big yucks like seeing a nun give the pope a pedicure and evil pope’s aid praying to a mendes goat .
– in large part a satire of life in newfoundland taking licks at things like the poor produce .
the one good tomato in grocery ( by virtue of a miracle ) ” must have fallen off the truck to toronto . ”
– based on a 20-minute short film .