The Crime of Padre Amaro (2002) User Reviews

Mexico in the middle of a film renaissance...

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 8/10 · 15 April 2007]

For many priests, celibacy is a true vocation which liberates them... For others, it is a lifelong struggle... If celibacy was made voluntary, not only would many priests be happier, but the Church would be richer... Above all, it might decide the only way to restore the numbers of the priesthood, and that seems to me not a bad idea...

In "The Crime of Father Amaro," the top film in Mexican box-office history, Carlos Carrera shows that even a man with morals and scruples betrays the nature of his profession, mostly when he brazenly criticizes the priesthood, and questions the Catholic Church's representatives on a variety of charges like illicit love affair, corruption, drug dealing, and hypocrisy...

The story takes a liberal priest, Father Amaro(Gael Garcia Bernal), protégé of a repulsive obese bishop (Ernesto Gomez Cruz), to the remote dusty village of Los Reyes to assist the older priest of the parish Father Benito (Sancho Gracia) in his daily work...

Amaro quickly realizes that virtually every fellow priest is involved in something immoral, and that his aging superior is receiving financial help from the region's drug lord for the construction of a new church-run hospital, and is secretly spending his cold nights with the proprietress of a local restaurant Augustina (Anjelica Aragón). He also discovers that Father Natalio (Damian Alcazar) is suspected of aiding the revolutionary factions in opposing the drug lords and mobsters...

Amaro's own weaknesses is put to the test when he finds himself led into temptation by Augustina 's extremely sensual teenager Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancón) a relationship that eventually goes way outside the bounds of his priestly oath... and, without any sign of inner turmoil, he embarks on a passionate affair with the devout catechism teacher...

Amalia—for whom loving a young priest serves as an extension of her deep piety—decides that the good-looking priest is the one for her and rejects her disappointed boyfriend, the aggressive reporter Ruben (Andres Montiel) who wrote an article alleging that the hospital is a front for laundering drug money...

The polemical film focuses on blasphemous scenes as on a vicious priest who stops at nothing, even by continuing the lies and hypocrisy to protect his career...

The way of all flesh

[valadas · 7/10 · 20 November 2002]

From a novel by the 19th century Portuguese well-known novelist Eça de Queirós, the Mexican director Carlos Carrera made this good movie in which to the main ingredients present at all times everywhere (lust, the temptations of the flesh haunting Catholic priests, religious hypocrisy, love and bourgeois prejudices) he added specific Mexican ones of our times such as the fight for independent journalism, drug traffic, complicity of authorities and the fight of the peasants for dignity, freedom and a better life. He was very successful in telling the same story contained in the Portuguese novel, transposing it from the atmosphere of a Portuguese provincial town in the second half of 19th century to rural Mexico of present times. The acting of all performers is sober and efficient with special prominence to Ana Claudia in the role of the sensual nymphet who seduces the young priest not with great difficulty it must be said.

A film we can't afford to ignore...

[spacedogg1979 · 7/10 · 8 December 2002]

`El Crimen' was not a bad film, although it was hardly worthy of accolades. While the acting was passable, the story did not move along in a provocative enough manner to thoroughly captivate its audience-- in simple terms, the movie was somewhat slow.

What is interesting to notice is the reaction that the public-- especially the Catholic public-- has had to this film. As a Catholic, it saddens me to see the amazing amount of rage focused around the lust of the film's central character, Padre Amaro. The film, on a superficial level, was rebellion against stale relics of Catholic tradition-- such as requisite chastity for clergy and the deification of inanimate objects-- that may well spell the end of the faith if they are not shed. It is on these superficial levels that Padre Amaro is decried as a criminal of the faith by the viewing public, but lust is not this priest's true crime.

Central to the film's controversy is the corruption that propels the church. The truest crime of the film is the web of cover-ups and lies that the church creates in order to propagate its cause. The church is held deep in the pockets of the drug cartel and in order to maintain their stability, the majority of the church leadership, from the bishop down to the sacristans,

are quite comfortable with, at worst, lying and falsifying evidence or, at best, looking the other way. The crime of Padre Amaro is not so much that he acted upon his human impulses as that he accepts the corruption of the church by participating in its lies and creating lies of his own.

Unfortunately, this film's only exposé is not the corruption of the church, which has become more and more evident in recent times, but the faithful church body's willingness to pretend that none of this goes on. One of the most terrifyingly ironic cries of foul against this film, as evidenced in many of these reviews, is, `Priests would never act that way!' How can one, in today's climate, make such assertions? While this film should, in an ideal world, be objectionable, the current outcry by supposedly devout Catholics represents a denial of epidemic proportions.

If one would set aside one's group think for two hours while watching this film, one might gain a perspective of the church that our priests do not offer in their Sunday morning Masses. This film may not represent what we would like our church to be, but it does represent what our church is. If we continue to pretend that the current state of affairs of our faith is acceptable, then el crimen de Padre Amaro will also be our crime: complacence.

Oh... my... god...

[McHuevo · 21 August 2002]

This is, without a doubt, the most controversial mexican film ever. I don't know if people from around the world will understand the impact it had here in Mexico, but here are some hints: a) almost everybody in Mexico is catholic, b) Mexican catholics have an enormous respect for priests.

So, imagine the chaos when a film is about a priest, Father Amaro (García Bernal), who falls in love with a teenage girl (Talancón) and is under the supervision of the local priest, Father Benito (Gracia), who is involved with one of the most wanted drug dealers in the country. And it gets better.

Nevertheless, the film does not criticize the catholic religion; it criticizes people, wether they're in a robe or not (as always, there's a lot of jabs to mexican politics too). "El crimen del padre Amaro" is a movie about human flaws and passions. Passion for a woman, passion for justice, passion for success; even passion for a religion.

Another plus is the performance of each and everyone of the cast members. Everybody is in character and brings to life a great plot. You can't help but thinking "Oh my, now how are they going to get out of this one?".

This one is a must-see. Remember: have an open mind, it's just a (very good) movie.

Catholic Church Corruption in Mexico

[cbrown10 · 7/10 · 5 May 2005]

Crimen del Padre Amaro

The film Crimen del Padre Amaro is set in Los Reyes, Mexico in 2002. In Mexico by 2002, a continuing economic, political, and social crisis was spiraling deeper and deeper. The chaos was caused by a debt problem and the system of dependent capitalism the debt produced. "Between 1994 and 2000 average wages declined 21 percent" (Keen 317). By 2002, Mexico had become more and more dependent primarily upon the United States, its foreign export, and its investment-capital markets. Despite these setbacks, Mexicans always had something to fall back upon and to look to for support: the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church is the main focus in the movie Crimen del Padre Amaro. There are no specific events that occurred within the movie that occurred in real Mexican history; however the events that do occur are believable and likely happened. Within the film, Padre Benito is taking money donations from a local drug lord to help fund a new hospital. Since there are many drug lords in Mexico it is not unbelievable that two of the most powerful groups in Mexico are the drug lords and the Church officials. It makes sense that they would overlap at some point, however I am sure that this scenario does not occur in all areas of Mexico. The director could have made it a little clearer that the drug lord was an actual drug lord; it was a little confusing with the mayor and the drug lord to keep each person separate. Another point of corruption within the Church is the fact that both Padre Benito and Padre Amaro have sexual relations with females despite their celibacy vows. This is not surprising at all, since it has become public knowledge that many Catholic priests have had sexual relations with people in recent years. The director could have shown more of the economic crisis and guerrilla warfare situations more, because they were a little confusing if one did not know or look into what was going on in Mexico in 2002.

The film is well made and attention-grabbing. The plot is a little confusing at first, as most movies are, however it all becomes much clearer and focused as the movie continues. In the beginning of the movie, Padre Amaro is seen as the good guy, who everyone wanted to succeed; however, by the end of the film, I looked upon Padre Amaro with complete disgust. Ironically, Padre Benito, I felt, was a horrible, corrupt priest in the beginning, and by the end I liked him much more than ever before. Padre Amaro was so young and yet he ended up being the most selfish and corrupt of all the priests in the community. Crimen del Padre Amaro is a very interesting film that is entertaining and worth watching to see what modern-day rural Mexico is like.

The film Crimen del Padre Amaro shows an interesting outlook of the Catholic Church and the corruption that exists within the Church in Mexico. It is very gripping and definitely worth watching. Although there are parts that can be confusing, it is fascinating to see how rural and "backward" parts of Mexican life can be. I would recommend viewing this movie and on a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 7.

Works Cited: Keen, Benjamin and Keith Haynes: A History of Latin America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

Subtly Volatile Mexican Peyton Place

[lawprof · 7/10 · 14 May 2003]

The young priest of "El Crimen de Padre Amaro" committed a church crime when he bedded a young and very willing parishioner. Their sexual relationship with a tragic denouement is what has attracted much of the attention for this film. And a fair share of condemnation from some for this Mexican submission for a Best Foreign Film Oscar.

But Amaro's real moral crime is, at least to me, far more serious than his understandable straying from the path of sexual abstinence demanded by his church's dogma, a doctrine enforced sporadically and then often only when responsive to an enveloping and inescapable scandal.

Amaro's great offense isn't found in the penal code of any nation - it's careerism, the sometimes crawling, occasionally grasping, rarely abandoned pursuit of advancement. And it's found in religion as in every other field.

The Catholic Church is a hierarchical religion. That means there's a vertical ladder with rungs that can be climbed with integrity, faith and decency. Or its higher level can be reached through hypocrisy, fraud, dissembling and moral blindness. A priest's choice is a reflection of his free will.

Amaro (the cast is listed on IMDb and except for the actor playing the lead, also seen in "Y tu mama, tambien," most are unknown to U.S. audiences) initially seems like a young priest whose character is several parts holiness healthily leavened by an earthly openness and caring that should insure his success in his first post as assistant parish father.

That combination, if true, would give us a very boring film. So we see Amaro (no spoilers here, the basic plot has been outlined in every review and the trailer) starts off as a refreshing breath of air, taking some of the burden off the elderly senior priest, Benito. Benito wants to build a "first world hospital" for his town. Commendable and Amaro gets with that program. But how is the hospital to be funded? Ah, there's the a story (which I won't detail).

Amaro has to eat and the only restaurant in town is run by Benito's "priest's whore" (apparently not a term of general approbation). Her beautiful daughter, Amelia, falls in love with the very handsome Amaro who, except for church services, is always dressed as if he's a guy home from college for a vacation. Sex follows, the inevitable precursor to the howls of outrage from some who believe that such dalliances are too indecent (but certainly not unbelievable) to be portrayed on the Big Screen. Well at least Benito and Amaro aren't into kiddie sex with either gender.

Amaro is the bishop's favorite and his relationship with the porcine cleric tests, but perhaps not severely enough, his devotion to his articulated principles of fairness, never mind moral theology.

The setting is a lovely town and countryside and the devout but not naive villagers live a life full of joys and sadnesses as do all of us. Relationships may be turbulent but they are also deep and a sense of interdependence is nicely brought out.

The excellence of the acting insures that "The Crime of Padre Amaro" is more than a soap opera. Much is predictable while remaining disturbing. There is a greater universality to this story than its focus on a rural Catholic parish in Mexico might suggest at first.

Worth renting.

7/10.

An anti-clerical homily

[Philby-3 · 7/10 · 15 April 2006]

Gael Garcia Bernal is a young actor of the moment, having made his mark in several interesting Mexican and Spanish films before tackling Hollywood. He is good at playing innocents who are about to learn that life is not so pure and wholesome as they imagined. In this film he plays a high-principled but weak-willed young Mexican Catholic priest who sets out to be a saint but becomes just another compromised clergyman. The story is taken from a 19th century Portuguese novel though updated to the present day. The film was not warmly received by certain Catholic activists who wanted it suppressed; in reality they are 125 years too late. The keen young Padre Amaro (Bernal) is sent by his worldly Bishop to a provincial town for some exposure to parish life. The local priest, Padre Benito (Sancho Gracia), is up to his eyeballs in sleaze. He is sleeping with local restaurant proprietor Augustina who provides his meals, and laundering money for the local drug baron via donations to his pride and joy, a local hospital under construction. He is also pressuring another local priest, Padre Natalio (Damián Alcázar), to stop supporting local guerrilla activity directed at the drug lords, and is suppressing unfavourable newspaper coverage of his activities. Padre Amaro is shocked at all this but nevertheless manages to fall in love with Augustina's 16 year old daughter Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancón). Amelia is easy prey - she becomes aroused just thinking of Jesus – and the Padre arranges a back room in his sacristan's workshop for their trysts. But it's hard to keep a secret in a small town; first Padre Benito finds out and then the egg hits the proverbial fan as Amelia discovers she is pregnant.

The story does indeed not put the Church in a favourable light. The venalities of the clergy are exposed but what is perhaps more telling is that the faithful are faithful because they know no better. The faith has become a way of keeping people ignorant.

As an adaptation from the novel the story is told in a straightforward narrative fashion. The main performances are very strong and the intimacy between Padre Amaro and Amelia beautifully portrayed. There are other minor interesting characters but there is not much space in a movie treatment for them.

Wow, powerful

[locopiper · 7/10 · 19 August 2002]

One thing I noticed and called my attention just after the movie ended, was that everybody was walking out of the teather with a "wow" face, most were quiet as if the movie had impacted them, probably because of the hard topic and ending the movie managed to bring to the audience, at least that happened to me, I am not the kind of ultra-conservative catholic so I enjoyed the movie but still it conducts to do some personal thinking.

I dont wanna talk about the catholic issue and if it was moral or not, come on it is just cinematography, for God´s sake! everybody knows that there are thousands of good catholic priest all over the world, very wise, who devote themselves to charity and celibacy and all the church demands. The movie does not deny that you have to be very stupid to assume so.

My comment on the movie is that the writing and screenplay was well-done, the story is simple but has many scenes filled with drama, with comedy, and about all it is a love story well developed, the photography is good also. I would recommend it and give it a 7.5/10

Excellent Film

[kimbersaur · 9/10 · 12 November 2009]

El Crimen Del Padre Amaro is a movie about corruption in the Catholic Church and the personal struggle of priests between obedience and temptation. Padre Amaro (Gael Garcia Bernal) is a young ambitious priest sent to a small town to work in his first church. Though he has a genuine passion to serve the spiritual needs of the people in his community, he soon discovers that the other priests are immersed in scandal, from breaking celibacy to hiding guerrillas to laundering money from powerful drug lords to controlling the media. It isn't long before he becomes entangled in his own scandal: a love affair with a devout young woman (played by Ana Claudia Talancón) caught up in her own struggle between religious obedience and the temptations of the flesh.

This film does an excellent job of capturing the complexity of human emotion. Much of the action takes place within the characters, which is conveyed through excellent acting and careful attention to detail on the part of the director and cameramen. One of the things the director mentioned in the DVD's director commentary was how he tried to capture the glances of actors, along with their facial expressions. Facial expressions were especially informative during the many close-up shots. This created a very intimate and emotional tone.

Bernal delivers a compelling performance of deep internal struggle - private, complex, and emotional – between ambition and love, loyalty to the Church and uneasiness with corruption, and how to deal with a variety moral dilemmas. Is laundering money okay if you use it for a good cause? Is guerrilla warfare justified if you are fighting a criminal oppressor? How do you reconcile between duty to the (corrupt) church and devotion to its teachings? When is abortion justified? Ultimately, the real "crime" of Father Amaro is not the obvious breaking of his celibacy. His crime is his loyalty to a corrupt church rather than his own values, continuously running away and hiding from his situation instead of dealing with it, and letting his ambition get in the way of everything else that mattered to him.

Ana Claudia Talancón was very believable & a hottie.

[HouTex-2 · 7/10 · 5 December 2002]

The performances of both Gael García Bernal (Father Amaro) & Ana Claudia Talancón (Amelia) were very impressive, even though their relationship was pretty predictable. I hope to see both of them in some English speaking movies in the future. They did have a nudity scene, & they did not overdo it, even though they did have the chance. The movie really shows how that at times, when some people are given a little bit of power, they will abuse their authority.

The Crime of Lousy Adaptation!!

[debblyst · 1/10 · 15 February 2003]

"O Crime do Padre Amaro" (the original title of the Portuguese novel) is one of my all-time favorite books, written by Eça de Queirós in 1875, one of the stalwarts of realism in literature, along with Flaubert or Zola. If you read this novel today, besides being marveled by its iconoclast wit, powerful story-telling, sharply drawn multi-layered characters and magnificent style, you will no doubt be startled by Eça's volcanic attacks on the Catholic clergy's corrupt morals and behavior in late 1800s Portugal.

Well, this Mexican adaptation is a total waste of the novel's story and shocking power, beginning with the bad idea to transpose it to modern times -- how can anyone relate to the impact of Eça's novel when sex scandals in the Catholic Church have become daily news? Anyhow, this is no excuse for the film's soap-opera approach, lame adaptation, cardboard characters, unimaginative direction, bland acting (Bernal, Talacón, though they make a beautiful couple) or sheer overacting (most of the cast, excepting the good jobs by Damián Alcázar and Angélica Aragón).

A major disappointment from director Carrera, writer Leñeros, and actor García Bernal, who was very interesting in "Amores Perros" and "Y Tu Mamá También" (and since then progressively déjà vu), but is totally lost here, his expression telling us he didn't get the first idea about Amaro's cynicism, passion, ambition and growing immorality. Amaro is NOT about standing there wide-eyed and being pretty!

If you want to be thrilled and overwhelmed by a real masterpiece, forget about this movie and read the magnificent novel instead. The book - 10/10 the film - 1/10.

What it had to say...

[soul_scion · 9/10 · 4 December 2005]

I enjoyed this movie, not because it was gripping or exciting, but because of what it had to say.

I'm not completely aware of everything to do with the Catholic Church, but the controversy in this movie is a necessary one.

I've never seen a Gael Garcia movie before and I thought this was good. The most powerful part of the movie is what it leaves you with - the message at the end; the themes of confession, of sin, of mistakes, of being human.

If you can't watch something that is quite slow and is not edge of the seat stuff, then forget it. Even the music isn't very memorable. But the movie stuck in my mind.

Great expectations not realized

[graffixalley · 7/10 · 14 March 2003]

After having been completely engrossed with the performance of Bernal in 'Y tu mama tambien', I must say I was a bit disappointed with El Crimen. Yes, there was relevance to current cultural ideas, just like the former, but that's not all that makes a movie good. I went into the theater expecting to see some reflections of my own uneasy feelings about the Catholic Church and organized religion in general. I got that but it was not enough. I think what I needed was character development. The character of Padre Amaro went from innocent child of God right to biggest sinner in the town without a clear pathway. I probably blame that more on the writers and director than the actors, but they were not entirely guilt-free, I'm afraid. On the other hand, I felt the filmography was superb. Having been to many remote areas of Mexico, I really felt like I was back there with the richness of the scenery. *As for the Oscars, I don't expect it to win anything. I saw Hable con Ella the same night and it was much better, so I can only assume Spain's entry in the Foreign Language category (which beat Hable con Ella) is hugely better. Still, I would recommend this movie for anyone patient enough to read the subtitles (the Spanish dialog was less than clear) and interested in seeing a bit of how Mexico really is.

Soap Opera Wrapped In Some Political and Social Commentary

[noralee · 5/10 · 16 October 2005]

"The Crime of Father Amaro (El Crimen del padre Amaro)" is half-way between "The Thorn Birds" and the current scandals sweeping the Catholic Church in the U.S. It examines the slippery slope of morality among priests in Mexico as each makes decisions based on perceptions of personal ambition and community needs, including inflated notions of where that intersects.

Into a rural nest of accomodationist parish priests, who have made deals with drug dealers, guerrillas and local politician (who rues that the "black politics" of the cassock-wearers is the worst), comes straight from the seminary young, hunky Gael García Bernal (of "Amores Perros" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien") with instructions from his very political bishop to read them the riot act. The young padre sees only the sins and not the community benefits, and gets attracted to the dark side, giving in to his selfish lust.

The sex is pretty plain vanilla heterosexual (the elders keep calling her a child, but she was of marriageable age with her boyfriend, so I guess they're using that as a synonym for virgin), compared to the current scandals. What makes it different from the usual soap operas is showing how the sensuality of the church's rituals heightens the sinners' attraction, as he wraps her in the robes of the Virgin and recites "The Song of Songs" for seduction, while she (a "wafer-eater" as her ex-boyfriend's father mocks her) is specifically in love with him as a priest. When he consults about abortion morality with the liberationist theologian to whom he has brought excommunication orders, he gets a blank look and a practical response: "That's not an issue in this parish. Is it in yours?"

But these serious issues are overwhelmed by the soap opera (the movie is based on an 1875 novel), and we mostly see "Amaro"s passions and desperate, self-serving actions, like praying for a miracle to save his career, not his character changes.

(originally written 12/16/2002)

flawed but timely drama

[Buddy-51 · 8 June 2003]

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, he is just like anyone else who looks for the easiest way out for himself when the going gets tough. Many viewers may want Amaro to assume the role of conventional hero, stepping in to right the wrongs taking place in this village. Yet, he will not accept that role. What makes the story tragic is not that Amaro is a man of potential greatness brought down by his own weaknesses or the machinations of others, but the fact that he is basically just an ordinary kid trying hard to be `extraordinary' (choosing the priesthood as his way of achieving it), yet lacking the intestinal fortitude and strength of character men must have if they hope to be great. That Amaro slips so easily into the amoral role set up for him by the likes of Father Benito (even though the old priest seems to find some redemption at the end) is what gives the film its air of frustrating hopelessness. Who, we are led to ask, will finally put an end to this vicious cycle? We know it will not be Amaro.

In many ways, the filmmakers may be trying to do too much in this film. Each of the stories involving the three priests could make an interesting movie in its own right. As it is, we sometimes get the sense that the film, in trying to create a full-blown tapestry of Catholicism in Mexico, ends up giving short shrift to some of the more fascinating elements of the story. So much time is spent on the sexual dalliances of Father Amaro and the girl, Amelia, that we don't really get to see enough of the other forms of controversy and corruption with which the film is dealing. The Liberation Theology movement, in particular, is dealt with in rather too sketchy a fashion, leaving us generally puzzled and unenlightened on that topic.

The actors do a superb job bringing their characters to life. In addition to the aforementioned Bernal, Sancho Gracia and Damian Alcazar are excellent as Amaro's fellow troubled priests and Ana Claudia Talancon is pretty and poised as the young girl drawn by lust, love and passion to this weak-souled priest.

Viewers will most likely find `El Crimen Del Padre Amaro' to be either a brave film or an offensive one, depending on which side of the religious divide they happen to come down on. But after the recent stories in the news, very few of us should really be shocked by what we see here on the screen.

Gained it's overrated status because of a shocking premise campaign before it's release.

[insomniac_rod · 7/10 · 15 December 2006]

Slightly overrated dramatic feature based on a controversial novel that deals with the corruption of the Catholic church in Mèxico.

Mèxico, being a 100% Catholic country has been blinded for centuries probably by the atrocious acts committed by the representatives of the church.

"El Crimen del Padre Amaro" displays the corruption, lustful, and murder of a young catholic priest who didn't exactly had his faith in God. The story takes place in a Mexican pueblito but the message is pretty clear... Religious crimes happen on all kind of levels. Territorial division, judicial division, high society class, etc.

I won't get into details of the dramatic features or events because I think it's more important to focus on the social and criticism message that "El Crimen del Padre Amaro" sends against church. It is pretty clear that in the past religious crimes or any kind of controversy against church was banned or ignored. In these days, everything seems to be finally getting green light to be known.

Still, this movie is overrated because it had a shocking premise campaign before it's release. It's NOTHING you haven't seen on any other movies and the fact that it deals with difficult topics for Mexican society, it's nowhere as crude or raw as the evening news.

Watch this movie in order to witness through a dramatic motion picture (I mean, dramatic events with the occasional exaggeration) how Catholicism in Mèxico is losing more and more followers. Pederastry, corruption, among other crimes are now a common practice.

Special mention for Gael Garcìa Bernal who delivers a solid performance. He is truly a talented actor. Ana Claudia Talancòn is also good in her role and she's extremely beautiful.

There is a problem with this movie. And it's not the movie itself

[fjhuerta-2 · 6/10 · 8 March 2003]

I found the movie spot on. Accurate. Exact.

The problem is, since so many people in the US have ever left their country, and feel they don't have a need to, they will never understand how varied life can be in other places.

Take the town where el Padre Amaro arrives. Too corny? Do you really think people spend too much time gossiping? Sounds like a soap opera on steroids? Well, you have to learn much about this place - especially, the fact that after spending a couple of months each year on a town similar to that where Amaro arrived, I can safely say the movie depicts *exactly* what life is in a town.

As for the Catholic Church, I studied 6 years of my life in an Opus Dei school. There might have been one or two good elements. The rest of them scorned indians or "mestizos", based their friendships on money, treated women like dirt, spoke highly of God while they pocketed all the money they could from everyone, and at least one of them ended up in jail for drug related issues. There is this place called "Torreciudad" in Spain - a place that looks, of all things, like a GT-Hotel. They built it with the money of all the people on the Opus Dei - instead of building hospitals, schools or whatever, they built an incredible summer resort for them to enjoy. Funny thing is, they never got anyone pregnant - it was rumoured a couple of them were homosexuals, though.

What's my point? My point is, "El Crimen del Padre Amaro" might not have been too shocking to me, because I already knew about many of the things that happened in the movie. But just because you think these things don't happen doesn't make it so.

I made you the priest's whore.

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 1 March 2008]

Only the third feature film by Mexican director Carlos Carrera, it was a Golden Globe and Oscar nominee. I am sure that the Catholic Church was not happy with that! I can see Bill Donahue of the Catholic League fuming and frothing over a film that features a pastor laundering drug money and sleeping with his housekeeper; another priest openly defying his Bishop to minister to the guerrillas in the mountains; a wacky woman who fakes taking communion only to hide it and carry it home to give to her cat; and, the greatest crime of all, Father Amaro deflowering a young girl, getting her pregnant, and praying for a miracle, which came, but not as the church would approve.

There are the book purists who feel that Eça de Queirós' novel is not given proper respect, but a movie is not a book. Gael García Bernal (Babel, Bad Education, The Motorcycle Diaries) is very good as the immoral new priest who impregnates the pious Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancón - Fast Food Nation) while spouting Bible verses to her. Of course, he uses the Song of Solomon to talk about her hair and her breasts, which were ample, indeed.

Sancho Gracia was very good as Padre Benito, the only authentic priest in the movie - the one the Bishop wanted to excommunicate! A least they didn't diddle any young boys.

Back to the oldies but good controversies

[diztorted · 7/10 · 29 August 2002]

Ok, let me put it this way... I wasn't going to see this movie, since I felt angry at mexican cinema these days. What did they expect? Y tu mama tambien was an insult to my eyes and intelligence, and it is not that I am easily offended or narrow minded, because if that was the case I wouldn't have liked this one either...and actually I did.

It is not great,it has many flaws, but this is a decent example of what a film with pretentions should attempt to be. The main flaw perhaps resides in that Gael Garcia is an awful actor (just look at him ridiculizing himself talking with argentinian accent in Vidas Privadas), the other is that it tries so hard to cover so many things that at the end leaves a lot unclosed; perhaps they needed more time.

At the end I saw it, honestly because, I was dying to tear it appart and trash it like the rest of modern mexican cinema, and I even promised myself not to say I saw it to anyone in case it "blew". Well, as you can see, I'm here talking about it, which is not bad.

But that's it, I wont enter into all that controversy stuff bulls***t, because I've never liked to do what the rest of the people does, and right now, every body is talking about it. But it is entertaining to watch all those offended people on tv and magazines, keep on the good work, you all make my day. And Gael... you might as well cast as "San Juan Diego" one day, you are perfect for the role

One of the Best (or Maybe The Best) Movies of the Year

[claudio_carvalho · 10/10 · 17 November 2003]

In 2002, in a small town in Mexico, Father Amaro (Gael Garcia Bernal), a young and promising priest, is assigned for that parochial. He is going to substitute Father Benito Diaz (Sancho Gracia), an old and corrupt priest of that community. Father Amaro is the protégé of the Bishop (Ernesto Gómez Cruz). Father Amaro meets Amelita (the gorgeous and sexy actress Ana Claudia Talancón), the very devoted catholic girlfriend of Rubén (Andrés Montiel), an atheist young journalist. Father Amaro also meets other priests of the neighbor towns in their periodical meeting in the church. In an environment of corruption and hypocrisy, Amelita and Father Amaro fall in love to each other. This relationship, full of lust and sin, leads them to a tragic and hypocrite end. Yesterday I watched this movie, which it is in my opinion, one of the best (or maybe the best) I have watched in 2003. I agree that the story is controversial and probably some (or most) of Catholics will not like it. It touches many wounds in this religion. The classic story of Eça de Queiroz, written in 1871, is greatly adapted for the present days. I have never had the chance of visiting Mexico, but in Brazil, in the Twenty-First Century, we have many country towns like the one showed in this wonderful film. The celibate was created in the Middle Ages by the Catholic Church to increase their wealth. How a normal man can keep the celibate is something that has never been clear for me. Lust, desire, is normal in a young man like the character of Father Amaro. In this movie, we have a young priest having a sinful relation with a very sensual girl. An older priest has a hypocrite relationship with an old widow (the mother of Amelita). This movie is indeed a great adaptation of a beautiful romance, with great performances and direction. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "O Crime do Padre Amaro" ("The Crime of Father Amaro")

Who does not know it already?

[MemoGamero · 7/10 · 29 February 2004]

I was born and raised in a small neighborhood in Guadalajara, Mexico; a place full of devoted Catholic Church fellows. But one day, many husbands had to face reality and beat up the local priest due to his avid trend to lie down wives. Ever since, many laic preachers used to claim that `Priests are still men, with weaknesses, so they deserve compassion.' My opinion is that if they are just plain men, they should stop playing sanctity. But being a catholic priest is no longer a vocation, it is a profession, a lucrative business.

But, who does not know it already?

Even so daring and `irreverent', this is by far, *not* the best movie about catholic church corruption affairs. For me this fact makes it overrated. Also, I have pointed out in many occasions that `highly acclaimed' (overrated?) Mexican movies seem to never miss one thing: naked breasts.

On the other hand, I never got the plot. I did not know if it was about drug dealing, gerrilla, sex under votes of chastity, money laundry, illegal abortion, fanatism, a failing love story, or getting away with sin (not crime)… if this movie was all that about, well, I did not find any connection either, so I was awfully bored…

My IMDB rating: 7.

Money, that's what I want

[Andres24 · 3/10 · 10 January 2003]

Sometimes when you get some money to do some film and you want it back, you obtain some trash. Well, Carrera, the director, thought: I get a screenwriter to adapt a novel (from Queiroz): a scandal movie and what do I get: M0NEY!!!!!!!!!. Ok. But what about the film!! Garbage. Crap. The story is known. Amaro goes to a town. He's young. The rest of the priests are well corrupted or they hide something big under their heart. Guerrillas, abortion, etc. What is the result? Amaro finds Amelia. They make love. Pregnancy. Terrible sin. Scandal is the same as money sometimes. In this case, it is.

"My vocation is the important thing!"

[BILLIII · 10/10 · 9 August 2003]

This was one of the best movies I have seen; NOT because the acting was excellent, but it was! NOT because the music was excellent, but it was! NOT because the photography was excellent, but it was!

In addition to all the above, it spoke of a very real and present danger existing in our societies today, so skillfully, and with such excellence of production, and character and thematic development that I will long remember the story, the feelings of ALL the characters, and, most important of all, the POINT.

The REAL CRIME became evident in the early stages of the movie: the sin of placing ego ahead of God, and the people to whom one has voluntarily become a Shepard. Padre Amaro's youthful amoral dedication to the development of his career (should have been `calling') littered white lies that like mustard seeds grew and grew until he became a spiritual disfigurement of what he should have become. Placing extrinsics ahead of integrity, Amaro's service to God and His congregation finally became a mockery.

This lesson hits a soft spot with me as I watch our present day `public servant' shepards almost ubiquitously putting their own personal interests ahead of their duties to the people. Greed in ambition

can be a dangerous thing, especially in the realm of service to the public, be it religious, governmental, or charitable.

And, like a boil, it will ultimately be lanced.

This movie is a real credit to the Mexican film industry.

Rating: 5/5 10/10 Bill Schaefer Berwyn PA [e-mail]

Solid Mexican drama

[=G= · 7/10 · 25 April 2003]

"The Crime of Padre Amaro" is not worthy of the controversy it spawned but is worthy of anyone interested in a subtitled Mexican drama about an ambitious young priest in a rural diocese who succumbs to the desires of the flesh only to find the one transgression leads to another. Although the plot is worn and the story melodramatic and lacking intensity, the film offers an abundance of colorful characters, rich dramatic textures, solid performances, and good artistic and technical execution. Will play best to young adult audiences and foreign film buffs. (B)

Perhaps controversial probably vain

[raul-4 · 1/10 · 17 August 2002]

So we see a fresh Mexican cinema being made and I can't deny that. To me it seems like if themes like the ones they deal: church corruption, endangered faith, etc have been in the mind of many Mexican Catholics, but till recently nobody seemed to express them. Those are the positives things I can say. For the rest of the people they seemed to enjoy the humor, which in the process also seems to lighten the dramatic parts, and no longer can we take the characters and situations seriously.

The theme of the movie, whichever it was, seems to get lost in the over packed story; you'll get drug trafficking, abortions, retarded girls, newspaperman, priest, clerics and else. Supposedly the director didn't have in mind to create a social or religious critique, `he was minding the characters', but really… a beautiful classical music doesn't fix the carelessness of the director towards the emotional reality.