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| Romero
Year: 1989
Classification: Drama
Directed:
- John Duigan
Actors/Actresses:
- Raul Julia
- Richard Jordan
Stunning... inspirational.
When I first viewed Romero, it was in Catholic gradeschool. While the profound message really didn't sink in at the time, it left a deep impact permanantly etched in my psyche. This true story revolves around Archbishop Oscar Romero and his involvement with the struggle in El Salvador for the liberation of the people. Raul Julia does a fantastic job in recreating the drama that I'm sure existed in those tumultous times. Oscar Romero, in large part due to this movie, is a personal hero of my own offering inspiration and consideration of the priesthood as a vocation in my own life. Much of what happened in El Salvador is a by product of misguided US policies of supporting anti-communist dictatorships, and this movie helps portray that. Don't get me wrong, communism in and of itself is evil and a failed ideology, but many policies regarding Latin America were as well.
A great moral for people of any religion
Oscar Romero was an extraordinary man who lived in extraordinary times. Appointed to the position of Archbishop of El Salvador, he began as a complacent member of the upper-class society of that nation, whose government was extremely oppressive towards the poor. As increasing numbers of his friends, colleagues, and parishioners became targets of government led assassination squads and Marxist revolutionaries, he came to the realization that the suffering of the poor was tearing his country apart and could no longer be ignored. He took up the cause of trying to convince the government to cease its murderous ways, only to martyred by an assassin's bullet himself.<BR>This movie invites us to step out of our world of Sport Utility Vehicles and afternoon soccer games to consider a reality that we don't want to know. A reality where children search garbage dumps for food and people are tortured and exicuted for voicing their beliefs. A reality that is happening right in our back yards and we, in our complacency, turn a deaf ear to daily. Romero's life and martyrdom shine as an example of human compassion that more people should learn and practice.
THE ROAD IS NARROW, AND DOWN THE MIDDLE
The most unlikely of heroes, Romero, with owlish glasses and demeanor, is reluctantly thrust into a role much like Thomas More almost five centuries earlier.
20th century El Salvador, like 16th century England, is enduring bloodshed and havoc. Insurgent Communist rebels compete with paramilitary squads and the oligarchy for control of the tiny Central American nation. Priests and the flock they lead are caught in the middle. Those who cry for justice are photographed and marked for extinction because they speak the language of Marxism.
Archbishop Romero recognizes that Marxists and the ruling oligarchy are merely obverse sides of the same coin-- ideologies who rule by force contrary to the the rule of God.
He is equally harsh with Communist sympathizers as he is with the paramilitary squads who rape, torture and execute advocates of justice and human rights.
Like a nail driven into wood, Romero meets each new situation, bewildered at first, but rising to the occasion with increasing faith, anger and determination.
In one scene, he arrives at a church which has been turned into an army barracks. He announces that he has come to remove the Blessed Sacrament. A belligerent soldier responds by unloading a round of bullets into the tabernacle and shatters the crucifix hanging above the altar. Romero stands transfixed, astonished at the utter desecration, then leaves. He pauses outside where a crowd has gathered, unsure as he himself is what he will do next.
Suddenly, collecting the courage to face the evil that expelled him, he wheels around. He brushes past the insolent soldier and stoops to gather the consecrated wafers in trembling hands. The soldier fires another round above Romero's head. Undeterred by the gunfire, the intimidation, and the soldier who shoves Romero with his boot, he completes his work then exits.
But he isn't finished. He returns yet again to restore the church to its rightful owner--the people of God. The soldiers in their turn stare blandly at the audacity of this meek soldier of God who dares to stand up to their jackbooted authority and in his turn expel evil.
Archbishop Romero fights every battle his Redeemer once fought: the apathy of the elite, the treachery of those in power, and betrayal within his own ranks. One of his own priests reveals that he carries a weapon. Romero angrily and loudly denounces him because "You lose God just as the others have!" Another parishioner denounces Romero for betraying their class by "forcing" her baby to be baptized along with "all those indians."
This video should stand next to A Man For All Seasons. Raul Julia, like Paul Scofield, has memorably portrayed one of the Church's most celebrated martyrs. Julia carries a heavy load, but the entire cast contributes
Buy Romero at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
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