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.
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.