Time of Miracles (1989) Plot Summary Explained

The stranger is a mysterious young man unknown to anyone in the village. He appears shortly after the teacher's death and performs a miracle by resurrecting the deceased teacher on the scaffold. His identity remains ambiguous throughout the film, he is never named or explained, and the villagers begin to believe he is Christ himself, though the film never confirms this.

Foreshadowing: His arrival is foreshadowed by the teacher's death, which occurs under the pressure of the communist crackdown.

• stranger
• messiah
• identity
• miracle performer

The frescoes mysteriously reappear no matter how many times the revolutionaries paint over them. This is presented as a genuine miracle, an event that cannot be explained by the secular, materialist worldview of the communist regime. The repeated reappearance reinforces the sense of divine presence in the church and becomes a symbol of faith's persistence against ideological oppression.

Foreshadowing: The frescoes begin their mysterious reappearance right after the authorities seize the church and attempt to erase religious imagery.

• frescoes
• miracle
• church
• reappear
• whitewash

The communist authorities label the resurrection as counter-revolutionary because the miracle directly undermines their ideological foundation. A Communist worldview denies the existence of the supernatural, so an undeniable miracle represents a threat to state authority and truth. By calling it counter-revolutionary, the regime attempts to control the narrative and suppress the spread of faith among villagers.

Foreshadowing: The regime already views the persistent frescoes as a counter-revolutionary act, establishing their pattern of labeling inexplicable events as political threats.

• counter-revolutionary
• regime
• resurrection
• atheism
• ideology

A revolutionary climbs the church walls and places the Communist flag directly on the cross, symbolizing the new political order's conquest over religion. This act transforms the church into a battleground of symbols, declaring the state's supremacy over faith and turning the cross itself into a political prop.

Foreshadowing: The flag-hoisting follows the authorities' campaign to exorcise God from daily life and drive out the priest.

• flag
• cross
• church
• symbolism
• revolution

The young stranger touches the hands of the deceased teacher, who is hanging on a scaffold, and raises him from the dead. The film presents this as an actual miracle, the stranger possesses some supernatural power that defies the materialist worldview. The resurrection shocks the entire community and becomes the catalyst for villagers believing he is the Messiah.

Foreshadowing: The stranger's arrival immediately follows the teacher's death, creating the opportunity for his miraculous act.

• resurrection
• teacher
• stranger
• miracle
• raised from dead

The village is named Bethany after the biblical town near Jerusalem where Lazarus was resurrected. This naming is deliberate irony, the film parallels the biblical story of resurrection with the stranger's miracle in the village. Just as Lazarus was raised from the dead in Bethany, the teacher is resurrected in this village, reinforcing the film's religious allegorical theme.

• bethany
• biblical
• name
• Lazarus
• resurrection

After witnessing the resurrection of the teacher, villagers begin to believe the stranger is Christ performing miracles, much like Jesus did in the Bible. The timing matters, the miracle occurs as the communist regime tries to eradicate faith, and people are hungry for spiritual hope. The stranger's mysterious origin and unexplained powers align with their expectations of a divine figure.

• messiah
• christ
• belief
• villagers
• faith

The film presents a clash between two rigid belief systems: the communist regime's atheistic, materialist ideology and the villagers' Christian faith. Both sides possess absolute conviction in their worldview. The miracle of resurrection cannot be reconciled with communist doctrine, while the regime's denial of faith seems impossible to the believers. This creates an unbridgeable divide that撕裂 (tears apart) the village.

Foreshadowing: The conflict begins with the regime's campaign to exorcise God, framing their struggle as an ideological battle.

• faith
• communism
• ideology
• dogma
• conflict
• atheism