Miracles and Millions

I recently watched the movie “Millions” by Danny Boyle, and despite my initial reservations (James Nesbitt with a very dodgy northern accent being one of them), it drew me in and really made me think.

This is an outline of the plot: A few days before Britain is due to switch to the euro, a 7 year-old finds a bag of pounds and only has a few days to spend it or decide what to do with it. The film is really about the various characters’ attitudes to the money, and it explores different ethical dilemmas brought about by money- charity, faith, consumerism, prosperity gospel and friendship. IMDB describes its tagline as “can anyone be truly good?”

The boy can also see and talk to saints and one of the most prominent is St Peter. The part of the movie I found most fascinating was the exchange between them after the boy discovers the money had been robbed and discarded. It’s an interesting interpretation of the miracle of feeding the 5000.

I thought it was a miracle, but it is just robbed.

Damian. Listen.
One day I was with you know who, Jesus.
And he went up into the mountains
and thousands of people followed him.
The police said five thousand, five thousand.

Everybody knows this story.
Loaves and fishes.

See, I knew you'd say that.
That's what everybody says.

Anyway, this kid comes up to us, about your size,
His name was...
no I have forgotten. I still see him sometimes.
Anyway he comes up with these loaves and fishes. Sardines.
And Jesus blesses them and passes the plate round.
Now the first person he passes it to, passes it on.
He doesn't take anything.
He just passes it on.
Do you know why?
Because he had a piece of lamb hidden in his pocket.
And as he is passing the fish, he sneaks a bit of meat out
and pretends he's taken it off the plate.
Do you see what I'm saying?
And the next person- exactly the same story.
Every single bastard one of them has their own food.
And every one of them is keeping it quiet.
Looking after number one.
But as that plate went round with the sardines on
They all got their own food out and started to share.
And then that plate went all the way round and back to Jesus
and it'd still got the fish and the loaves on it.
I think Jesus was a bit taken aback.
He says, 'what happened? '
And I just said 'miracle'.
And at first I thought I'd fooled him.
But now I see it was a miracle, one of his best.

But this little kid
had stood up and...

Everybody there just got bigger.
Do you understand
what I'm talking about?

Not really.

I'm talking about you.

Now I'm really lost.

You're trying too hard.
That kid he wasn't planning on doing a miracle.
He wasn't planning anything, except lunch.
Something that looks like a miracle turns out to be dead simple.