Mara, single, mysteriously falls pregnant. Superstitious, the residents of the small fishing village in the Danube Delta see it as proof of witchcraft that attracts bad luck to the community. Mara is banished, but thanks to her healing skills she gets a job at the Europa, a luxury spa in the area, home to barren women seeking treatment from the legendary sacred mud of Tekir. There Mara encounters Lili, a rich and eccentric woman, who is convinced that Mara will heal her ...

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The Miracle of Tekir is like the mud at the heart of the plot: actually trivial, but possibly able to raise a curious mystery. First noticed for her film Ryna in 2005, the Romanian director Ruxandra Zenide again focuses on the clash between tradition and modernity, and how that affects women. There are a handful of moments that show Zenide’s talent, but the magnificent landscapes also give this movie its troubling, suspenseful atmosphere, contributing much of its charm. The intensity of both Dorotheea Petre’s and Elina Lowensohn’s performances carry the movie.