In 1994, ex-pat journalist/scientist Tom Hargrove was living happily with his family in Colombia when the unthinkable happened. One day he left his house and was taken hostage by a revolutionary guerrilla force called FARC. What followed was a torturous, nerve-racking ten months of negotiations with the kidnappers. Tom’s son Miles, then in his early twenties, decided to capture the whole experience on film, partly as a form of therapy. Tom’s wife Susan is at the center of it all, doing her best to make it from day to day, knowing she may never see her husband again.

A quarter-century after the traumatic event that changed his life forever, Miles Hargrove was finally ready to edit the footage he’d shot into a full-length documentary. Along with co-writer/director Christopher Birge, Hargrove has created a fascinating, unnerving portrait of a family under intense, prolonged stress. Susan Hargrove, a remarkable woman, does all she can to mitigate the prevailing fear and tension, calling on a dear old friend to visit, playing music and making big, communal dinners. Though not always easy to watch, ultimately “Miracle” relates an inspiring story about the power of hope and solidarity when the worst happens. It’s an authentic profile in courage.