A single mother of a leukemiastricken child is redeemed by the titular positive force in Paco Torres intriguing debut The Magic of Hope Starting out as a pofaced tale of endurance pic develops into a convincing quietly affirmative fable about the transformative power of human goodness Featuring a searching central performance from Patricia Garcia Mendez and employing a distinctive mix of grit and lyricism working in mutually beneficial counterpoint pic is far from perfect but its seriousness of purpose and undertow of emotional truth could be met with applause by fest auds
