Healing Hands

Eddie Cibrian is a janitor who recovers from an accident and discovers that he has acquired healing powers. The movie explores the implications of his new-found gift, especially the cost that it imposes on him and the people close to him. Cibrian is likeable and carries the movie gracefully, with an adequate supporting cast. "Resurrection" (1980), with Ellen Burstyn, is a superior movie that explores most of the same themes on a much deeper level, and packs a far more powerful emotional punch. But "Healing Hands" will always have a special place in my heart because of the circumstances under which I saw it -- on vacation with my 1-year old grand-daughter, who is just acquiring many of the abilities that I find myself gradually losing as a septuagenarian. "Healing Hands" resonated with that situation and gave me a perspective from which to accept generously, even embrace, the inevitable process of aging. My nine stars are a personal tip of the hat for that gift. You can't ask for much more from a movie.