Looking for Miracles is a 1989 made-for-TV film based on the memoir of the same name by A.E. Hotchner. Filmed primarily in southern Ontario, it is a story of growing up and relationships, focusing on the experience of two brothers at a summer camp during the Great Depression. The director, producer, and co-writer is Kevin Sullivan.
Synopsis
Set in the summer of 1935, 16-year-old Ryan Delaney wants to go to university on a scholarship, but his struggling mother wants him to stay home, find work, and take care of his 10-year-old brother Sullivan. Due to circumstances relating to the Depression, the brothers were separated and have recently reunited. Ryan is easily annoyed by his little brother. Desperate to find a job, Ryan manages to gain a position as a counselor at Camp Hochelaga despite the fact that he is not qualified; he is too young, has never been to camp, and cannot swim, none of which he reveals during his interview with the camp director, Chief Berman. The ruse is so effective that Ryan is offered the lead counselor position for the group of age 10 boys. After his mother tells him that he cannot go to camp without Sullivan, Ryan convinces Chief Berman to allow the young boy to attend. Being age 10, Sullivan is assigned to Ryan's group. At the start of camp, Ryan struggles in his position. When he is asked to move a vehicle on the first day, he does not reveal that he cannot drive and ends up having a minor accident. A counselor in Ryan's group named Mo quickly becomes suspicious of him and comes to realize that he is not qualified. However, he keeps Ryan's secret and the two become good friends. They work together to manage their group of campers, which includes a troubled brat who goes by the nickname of Ratface. Ratface initially is a constant behavior problem for the counselors and is mean to Sullivan. Eventually, though, they come to understand Ratface's troubled home life and the two boys become friends. The film is a story of growing up. By the end, Ryan and Sullivan develop a close relationship.
