Spanish Movie Review: El Crimen Del Padre Amaro (2002)

Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancon, Sancho Gracia, Angelica Aragon, Luisa Huertas


Padre Amarro (Gael Garcia Bernal), arrives in a small Mexican town as a fresh-faced priest in training. Sent by the bishop of the region, from a well-meaning priest he gradually succumbs to life in the parish. At the beginning Amaro sees that padre Benito (Sancho Gracia), the head priest, though living under the facade of celibacy has a clandestine lover. He sees how drug, crime money is being poured into church projects under the justification that bad money becomes purified when used for a good cause. Slowly Amaro falls to the wayside. A young parishner, beautiful Amelia's (Ana ClaudiaTalancon) devotion to the church and her admiration for Amaro turns into a steamy love affair between them. Amaro also becomes an aide to the bishop's political maneuvers inside the church. From an observer, Amaro turns into an active participant in the milieu. What's so striking about the movie (The Crime of Padre Amaro) is how dexterously the plot unveils characters of whom it's difficult to judge or categorize as good or bad. The audience is pulled in to empathize and see through their choices subtleties and ethical dilemmas that follow those choices. Even if a celibate priest, the structure imposed by an institution does not sheild him from the travails of the human condition.


Rating: Four of 5 stars.