`THIRD MIRACLE' A GRITTY EXAMINATION OF FAITH.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

An absorbing film about faith and fallibility, ``The Third Miracle'' takes an honest look at supernatural occurrences, a subject that Hollywood typically regards with either sarcasm or pea-soup-style fantasy horror.

Here, in a gritty style that won't remind anybody of Frank Capra, director Agnieszka Holland (``Europa, Europa'') investigates miracles without a trace of condescension, which makes this movie a pretty divine occurrence in this time of ``Stigmata''-style filmmaking.

Ed Harris stars as Father Frank Shore, known in Catholic circles as ``the miracle killer.'' Frank works as a postulator, a church-appointed investigator who examines miracles and saints in much the same way a police detective looks into a crime scene. When we first meet Frank, he is living in one of the seedier sections of Chicago, having disappeared from church circles for eight months. Frank is wrestling with doubts, both with his job (his last investigation ``destroyed the faith of an entire community'') and his God.

Frank reluctantly agrees to study a series of mystical phenomena said to be occurring around a deceased immigrant woman who was a member of an inner-city Chicago parish. Healings are claimed to have happened in her name and a statue of Mary outside the church is said to cry tears of blood when it rains. For Father Frank, this is just another false alarm needing to be debunked. He doesn't even bother to open the thick file the bishop gives him.

But a funny thing happens to Frank. As he further opens his heart to doubt and questions, his capacity to believe begins to soar. This process is aided interestingly enough by his relationship with the immigrant woman's daughter, Roxanna (Anne Heche), a fiery non-believer still hurt by her mother's decision to abandon her when she turned 16 in order to more fully serve the church. Roxanna's earthiness captivates Frank and causes him to doubt his calling even more. But she also forces him to think through his beliefs.

``The Third Miracle'' takes its title from the Vatican's requirement that a candidate for sainthood be recognized for three miracles. (That standard has been reduced to two since the film's source material, Richard Vetere's novel, was written.) The film poses more questions than answers, and leaves the validity of its quite literal supernatural occurrences open to various interpretations.

But the movie's message about faith is clear, showing that it's a personal journey, one that often resists intellectualization. Father Frank's search for a third miracle comes up empty in one sense. But in another, and perhaps more important way, his journey becomes a heavenly pilgrimage, reawakening his capacity for wonder and reestablishing his connection with God.

Harris, always outstanding when given a good script, makes for one of the more compelling men of the cloth in recent memory, fleshing out a priest who is strong, smart and - get this - sensual. Frank drinks, shouts and struggles with God and with his vow of chastity. Heche makes a fine enchantress as Roxanna, a complex woman who understands Frank in ways that go deeper than they initially understand.

The performances and thought-provoking story make ``The Third Miracle'' a richly rewarding film, both for its intelligence and its willingness to discuss matters of faith. Seeing, in this case, will make you a believer.

The facts

The film: ``The Third Miracle'' (R; language).

The stars: Ed Harris, Anne Heche.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Agnieszka Holland,.Screenplay by John Romano, based on the novel by Richard Vetere. Released by Sony Pictures Classics.

Running time: One hour, 59 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood; Landmark's NuWilshire in Santa Monica; Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.

Our rating: Three stars.