Ralph Walker is a ninth-grade boy living in 1954 Ontario and attending Catholic school. Because his father was killed in the war and his mother is seriously ill in a cancer ward, the boy is supposed to be staying with a family friend. Instead, he's living all alone at his family's home, selling furniture and knick knacks at the local pawn shop so that he can pay the rent and buy food at the grocery store. When Father Fitzpatrick, the head of Ralph's private school finds out about the teenager's situation, he determines that the best course of action would be to place the kid in either foster care or an orphanage. When his mother slips into a coma, he is desperate for a miracle to both bring her back to health and set his life back on course again.
As it happens, Ralph is being punished for some misbehavior, with his sentence being that he must join the cross-country team at his school. Overhearing his coach and P.E. teacher Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott) tell the team that it would be a miracle if any of them made it to the Boston Marathon, Ralph finds inspiration. He becomes determined to enter that biggest of races, believing that if he can win despite his limited athletic abilities, he can set in motion the events that can change both his and his mother's life.
Saint Ralph received an outstanding reception at the Toronto Film Festival, with viewers praising its unconventional approach and the talent of newcomer Adam Butcher in the title role. Since BOP loves Campbell Scott, we'll definitely be rooting for this one to find success in its limited release from Samuel Goldwyn. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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