“Miracle Mile” takes place in a city in the pangs of chaos while Angelenos flee the threat of a nuclear shot. The film was released in 1988, but it has resurfaced in recent years, attracting closed windows to the American cinematheca and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Written and directed by Steve de Jarnatt and made for $ 3 million, the film was restored and reissued by the distributor of Boutique Kino Lorber film in 2024. In his comment for the Blu-ray, the author Janet Fitch (“White Oleander”) said “Mile miracle” represents “the type of apocalypse that people imagine”.
Los Angeles knows how to resist a crisis – or two or three. Angelenos exploits this resilience, striving to build a city for everyone.
And even if it did not make a big impression when it opened, from Jarnatt said that the film had won what he called “cult status”.
A large part of the appeal of the attraction of “Mile Mile” can be attributed to the obvious affection of the film for the section of Boulevard Wilshire Bordered by the Brea and Fairfax avenues. Featured locations include the department stores of May Co. and Orbach (now the Academy Museum of Films and the Petersen Automotive Museum, respectively), the towers near Park La Brea and Johnnie’s Coffeewhich is closed and used mainly for cinematographic and television productions.
The film, which takes place during the 24 hours, begins like a light romance. Anthony Edwards embodies Harry Washello, a trombone player in difficulty who falls in love with the waitress of Café Julie Waters (Mare Winingham) after meeting Mignon at Brea tar pits. The couple makes an appointment to meet after the end of their evening quarter.
But their plans collapse. Harry involuntarily intercepts a call in a telephone booth, and calling him tells him that nuclear missiles hit Los Angeles per hour. As the city takes place, Harry and Julie try to save their upset romance.
The end is both sad and happy. “Being with the one you love at the end, even if it is a whole new love that you have met at the Tar La Brea stands, which is like a time portal and a museum dedicated to extinction, is a way to go out,” explains Jarnatt.
(And it was a particularly happy ending for Edwards and Winningham, who linked during the shooting of the project. At the time, the two were married to other people and had remained friends while working together on other projects – including “ER”, in which Edwards played the main role as Dr. Mark Greene. The two finally became a couple and married in 2021.)
