The Crime of Padre Amaro (DVD, 2003)

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 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 this movie for anyone patient enough to read subtitles or who just simply love foreign films.

This was a wonderfully and tastefully done piece of cinema. The story is gripping and controversial yet the film is enlightening and thought provoking.

I actually bought it for my wife but we sat down and watched it together and i was a really good movie. Had everything that you could ask for from a movie. And the ending was heart wrenching... you should defenitly watch it!

What can I say, I have a weakness for Foreign Film, specially the Spanish ones! And Gael Garcia Bernal is delicious in this one. Good story line and I loved how it shows the hypocrisy of the Catholic Priests. I liked the movie so much I bough t the book and am about half way through. The book is set in the 1870's, but they modernized the film so it's set in the early 1960's or 70's. I recommend this to anyone that likes something different!

CAT

bought it as a gift they thank me said it was great. ok ok