Resurrection (1980)

Daniel Petrie's low-key drama of a woman who discovers that she has the power to heal is an affecting film with a brilliant performance by Ellen Burstyn. After a terrible car accident that kills her husband, a woman has an out-of-body experience that seemingly leaves her with the power to heal. Initially uneasy with her newfound ability, she comes to realize that she must share it, but is hampered by the fanatical religiosity of boyfriend Sam Shepard. Very much an actor-driven film, this deliberately unflashy treatment of an emotionally charged subject is all the more persuasive for its style. In some ways, the film's real subject seems to be the emergence of Burstyn's true spirit following the death of her husband, and her need to break free of the rigid and emotionally repressed men that surround her, such as her father Roberts Blossom and boyfriend. In what is likely Burstyn's finest performance, she radiates an almost otherworldly compassion as a healer while confronting the same relationship problems as anyone else. The celebrated cast also includes Eva LaGallienne, Pamela Payton-Wright, Lois Smith, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Richard Farnsworth. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide