“Twist of Fate” - Synopsis

KAI and ANNIE live in a small rural town in Upstate New York. Kai, who is forty five and black, was a successful photographer who was blacklisted due to fake accusations of a physical altercation with a model. He now works as a photo retoucher. Annie, who is thirty seven and white, makes jewelry out of children’s first teeth. They’ve just decided to forego having children as their final attempt has failed. One afternoon, a metal container is discovered buried in their backyard Upon opening it, they find a late medieval carved box and within it, a pouch containing bone fragments. They see an archaeologist who suggests the bone fragments might have belonged to a martyr or saint. Kai, who was ostracized from his family by his politician father for no longer believing in God, wants nothing to do with anything connected to the Church or religion. A few days later, their gardener shows up at their house with his ailing wife, asking if he can give her a tour of their garden. She spots the box on the coffee table, and Annie tells her about it. She takes the bones in her hand, and says a prayer over them. Annie wonders if the bones could have healing powers, but Kai laughs it off. Some weeks later, a former colleague of Kai’s comes to dinner. She offers Kai a job as a photo editor for a new magazine. Annie thinks Kai should consider it, but Kai fears the past repeating itself. At the evening’s end, Annie gets a phone call from her gardener, informing her that his wife’s illness has been cured. A few days later, a rumor that the bones have healing powers has spread. A group of people show up at Kai and Annie’s home, wanting to pray to the bones. Kai tells them that the bones have no power and to leave. Later, a young man who’s losing his sight begs to pray to the bones. Annie lets him in despite Kai’s protestations. They have a huge fight. A week later, Annie continues to let people pray to the bones despite Kai’s objections. Kai finally reveals the origins of his atheism to Annie - the fundamentalist religious teachings he received as a child and his father’s embrace of them. Annie tells Kai he needs to make peace with his father. Kai surprises his father with a visit, who tells him that without faith there can be no family he’d ever call his own. Kai returns home, broken hearted and drunk. He grabs the bones and wants to throw them in the river. Annie tries to stop him, and he accidentally knocks her to the ground. Later, Kai tells her what happened with this father, and Annie confesses that what she thinks was the spirit of the Saint visited her and she prayed to her for a child. Needing to finally believe in something, Kai says a small prayer for the same. Six months later, Kai is about to start his new job and Annie is pregnant. They receive a letter from the Church saying that they can not venerate the bones at this time, and it requires further examination. Kai and Annie agree to let them keep the box and the bones, and happily close that chapter of their lives.