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The Crime of Padre Amaro | Year: 2002 Classification: Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa Directed: - Carlos Carrera Actors/Actresses: - Gael García Bernal - Ana Claudia Talancón - Sancho Gracia flawed but timely drama ***1/2 How quickly the events in the news can inure us to the ugly realities of life. In the wake of all those priest sex scandals that have come to light in recent times, "El Crimen Del Padre Amaro" comes across as more timely, yet less shocking, to us today than it would have had it been released a few years back. This Oscar-nominated film from Mexico, written by Vincent Lenero and directed by Carlos Carrera, features priests who fornicate, priests who launder drug money, priests who arm guerrillas, priests who pay for abortions, priests, in short, who seem to do everything imaginable except what they were originally ordained to do. Not only is the Church hierarchy in this film in bed with drug runners (as well as half the female members of the parish, apparently), but it even dictates to the local newspaper what it will report about the Church and where on the front page such stories will go. It's safe to say that many devout Catholics will see this film as yet another anti-papist screed designed to further degrade the image of the world's most powerful religious organization. But the makers of "El Crimen Del Padre Amaro" seem less concerned with attacking the Church than with examining the human frailties that motivate the characters' actions. Part of their argument seems to be that the complexities of life and of human nature make it virtually impossible for anyone of flesh and blood to remain saintly for very long. This is particularly true in a setting like rural Mexico where the day-to-day struggle for survival overwhelms all other concerns - spiritual as well as temporal. Father Benito is the leader of the parish who rationalizes his dealings with the local drug dealers by arguing that "bad money becomes good money" when it is used in the service of the Lord. How else is he going to get the funds necessary to build the new hospital for his people? Father Natalio, an espouser of "liberation theology," finds himself at loggerheads with Father Benito, actually arming the very guerillas who fight against those same drug lords. Natalio suffers no qualms about having men killed if that is what is necessary to achieve his goals for his people. Finally, Father Amaro, the focal point of the film, has his own demons to confront. Barely out of seminary, this idealistic young man (played by Gael Garcia Bernal, one of the leads of "Y Tu Mama Tambien") arrives in town determined to make his mark as a priest who does good for his parishioners. What he doesn't bank on is the corrosive effect of the corrupt system into which he is sent or his own susceptibility to the weaknesses of the flesh. Being young and handsome, Father Amaro soon finds himself the target of an amorous young woman who confuses pious sentiment with plain and simple erotic desire. What makes Father Amaro interesting is that he is never as righteous as we think he should be in the beginning and never as unredeemably corrupt as we think he should be at the end. In many ways, STILTED MORALITY TALE DRESSED UP IN SKIMPY CLOTHING Why do reviewers lament that this was an anti-Catholic film? That's a bit like saying that The Titanic was anti-marine. Sure, there's plenty of blame to go around, the film is rather brave in its condemnation of social and religious hypocrisy and its expose of political corruption. It tosses up a laundry list of items that may be embarrassing to the church (which inevitably also happen in real-life) but aside from the shock value, the filmmaker seems to have little to say about the vital dogma issues he raises such as celibacy for the priests. Why is the word "crime" singular when the title character, our newly minted Father Amaro, assists in money laundering in indirect cahoots with the local drug lord, makes the local newspaper publish lies, finances an abortion, and gets his rocks off with an underage nymph under the guise of preparing her for a nunnery? Perhaps because all of these misgivings hark back to one failing: the lack of a conscience fitting to a man in his calling. Looking at it as a contextual romance gone awry instead of as a religious statement, both the protagonists sport innocence and carnality. Their acting is convincing. The female character is quite attractive, for what it's worth, and one can see why a young priest would have zipper troubles in her company. In the end though, while the movie did manage to hold my attention I felt that its sense of right and wrong was stultifyingly out of depth and despite all its hardhitting cameos, ultimately a bit unimaginative. Perhaps an attractive rental but I can't grasp why this was a record-breaking megahit in Mexico. Excellent, but some minor irritations Overall the experience of watching this movie was quite good. The acting is superb- with all the characters quite believable, cinematography excellent; all in all a beautiful work. The story itself is also compelling. The problem that I have with the film is less a cinematic problem than a literary problem. A "pet peeve" of mine is when a producer or director feels that he/she can "improve" upon a story that is already an acknowledged masterwork, and makes major changes that are needless. On occasion this is necessary due to the directors desire to focus on a certain aspect of a work, or present a work cinematically that would not normally be "doable" if one stuck closely to the original text (the recent release of "Troy is a good example). I understand that this is often necessary, but at least the director ought to have the good graces to present the work under a different name; thus peterson calls his movie "Troy" and not "the Iliad." I think Bernal made an error by moving the story from rural 19th century Portugal to modern Mexico. The thing that makes this story (and indeed the adapted movie) so compelling is that it contains an element of universality that removes any need to update it. The original book by Eça de Queiróz is as timely now as when he first wrote it. Queiróz also writes novels that are intensely "visual" (if such a word can be applied to writing) and uniquely capable of being adapted to film. It's a minor gripe, and should not dissuade anyone from watching an excellent film, but it remains none the less. Buy The Crime Of Padre Amaro at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Crime Of Padre Amaro Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Crime Of Padre Amaro This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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