MovieChat Forums > Leap of Faith (1992) Discussion > The kid at the end

The kid at the end

posted 9 years ago by liquidchaoss
14 replies | jump to latest

** Spoiler Alert **

So was the kid able to walk at the end suppose to be a miracle? Or did the kid con Jonas? Jonas was upset and claimed the kid and his sister conned him. However when Jonas talks to the kid he said the kid was the genuine article. Which I assume he meant the kid was the real deal?

When I first saw this movie I thought the kid knew he could walk again but waited it out so that he could pretend it was a miracle and go on the road with Jonas. Because he was practically begging Jonas to go with him. But now I'm just confused about the kid walking. Was it suppose to be a real miracle, movie wise of course, or was the kid playing Jonas?

[–] crakatoot 9 years ago

well in the movie the sister says the docters have looked over the kid and cant find any reason for him to be a cripple. so it must have been psychosomatic, you know in his head . so the cross thing had like a placebo effec. he thought he was healed, so he was.

it wasn't an act, it was all genuine to the kid. it was just in his head.

i told you not to stop the boat. Now lets go. Apocaylpse Now

[–] SarahCynical 8 years ago

They never said anything of the kind. They said the doctors couldn't do anything for him. Big difference.

It was supposed to be a legit miracle, that's why Jonas freaked out.

I just watched it to verify.

Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist.

[–] crakatoot 8 years ago

it was psychosomatic, that's much more likely then a miracle

i told you not to stop the boat. Now lets go. Apocaylpse Now

[–] SarahCynical 8 years ago

On what do you base the conclusion it was psychosomatic?

Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist.

[–] crakatoot 8 years ago

the kids sister says to Steve Martin that the doctors couldn't find anything physically wrong with the kid, to cause his condition. So, if its not casued by something physically, it has to be psychological.

i told you not to stop the boat. Now lets go. Apocaylpse Now

[–] SarahCynical 8 years ago

That's not what she said. She said he saw a bunch of doctors and "nothing". I took that to mean they couldn't do anything for him. She never said they found nothing wrong with him. If it were in his head, Jonas wouldn't have freaked out over his walking.

Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist.

[–] Mickyfinn 8 years ago

I really don't remember, but I thought Jonas asked something like "What did they find wrong with him?", to which she said "Nothing".

Regardless, if he couldn't walk for (how long?) and then suddenly does that night (without any medical treatment) its either a miracle or was psychosomatic (possibly the trauma of seeing his parents killed or guilt of surviving while they didn't). I'm inclined to believe the latter.

You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design

[–] darylsdn 8 years ago

What she actually says is "Doctors did all they could. Took tests, stuck him needles a foot long, all for nothing." That doesn't mean nothing was wrong. There are a lot of conditions doctors can't fix.

[–] mvol-04720 8 years ago

It was depicted as a genuine miracle as opposed to the fake ones being done by Jonas. If you notice, the kid didn't go to Jonas to receive a fake miracle, he went to Jesus and was given a genuine one. It was meant to show that Jesus is the true healer and Jonas was a fake. Notice after that, everyone gathered outside to praise, read the bible, teach the bible. It was meant as Jesus showing Jonas that he was actually in control

[–] liquidchaoss 8 years ago

Yet Jonas still got credit for it and the kid was willing to go on tour with them and do this for other audiences... So Jesus provided a miracle only for the boy to use it to help Jonas make money? Or maybe I missed something?

[–] mvol-04720 8 years ago

I agree with that. However, Jonas quit and walked away from that life after that miracle. Deep inside he knew what really happened, I took that as the miracle happened and Jesus knew it would compel Jonas to walk away from his life of being a con. I could be wrong but I always took it as Jonas had no problem using God as a con because he did not believe in the existence of God. Once he witnessed a true miracle he could not explain it showed him God existed, which is why he quit and walked away. Just my opinion

[–] alfredworcester 8 years ago

Excellent point. A lot of good points on this thread, none of which even occurred to me. The end always confused me.

[–] alfredworcester 8 years ago

Another good point, probably the best I've read yet. A lot of movies and books leave the end confusing, and open for you to draw you're own conclusions. I agree with mvol-04720 the most. Thanks for the insight! I always just took it to mean that Marva and Boyd faked out Jonas and got the better of him, so he just gave up and quit, and decided to take off. Disgraced. The rain at the end, I thought, was the true miracle. God showing Jonas that he did the right thing by leaving it all behind.

[–] Lava-Rocks 8 years ago

I read it this way:

Jonas just wanted to start over and the rain was just a rainstorm.
The kid - well, you can believe what you like but psychosomatic actually makes sense.
The only miracles are the ones we make out of happenstance.

P.S. I really enjoyed this movie. It was great!