Memorable, crazy movie

Fresh and Exciting

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

One in a while, an performer comes along who can hold the screen just by being in the frame, who lights up from within, someone the camera loves--Garbo is the perfect example, but Gael Garcia Bernal has this incandescent quality, too, possessing a genuine magnetism crossed with a sensitivity that makes the young priest he plays in this film totally believable.A small Mexican town "is visited by the devil," according to one of many colorful locals, and corruption of all kinds infects the body politic. The young priest faces his own temptations, and I admire the script because it offers a viewpoint for contemplation rather than easy answers; it is beautifully filmed and acted with commitment and believability.

Technically speaking, El Crimen del Padre Amaro is a mediocre movie, at best. The soundtrack is repetitive, the acting overdone and the cinematography not much better than the one at your regular Mexican soap opera. But the most impressive thing about this film is, in my view, its unbalancedness and ability to distort the reality.It starts relatively well, grabbing your attention and making you think about the power of certain institutions over poor and isolated communities. "A nice portrayal of alienation", you'd think. Well, you'd be wrong.As the movie evolves, its partiality and hate towards religion in general (and the Catholic Church, in particular) becomes really clear, and what could be a mature, holistic analysis of the role of religion in people's life rapidly becomes an excuse to harshly criticize the Catholic Church, depicting it only as a web of lies and contradictions. We all know those two things are inherent to most religions, but what shouldn't have been forgotten is that they are just parts of a much more complex reality.Overall, the writer/director's reductionist and exaggerated tale of corruption reveals a complete misunderstanding of the Western society and its relationship with religions. Max Weber must be rolling in his grave.

It's amazing how folks can watch this film and still not grasp its meaning. Breaking a vow of celibacy for a priest is a sin, not a crime. The true crime of Padre Amaro is not that he fell into a sexual relationship with a forward young woman or that she was only 16 or any of that. His crime is revealed mostly in the very last scene of the film, though he commits it throughout the story.This is not a feel-good movie but an important one with a lot to say about the place of religion and those who practice it in today's world. Though there is no gratuitous sex or violence in the film the story is one of grotesque moral compromise and debauchery of the spirit. If Padre Amaro believes in his religious calling then he has surely embarked on the highway to Hell. Witness his journey - see this film.

Hey! Its 2006 and I just saw this movie for the first time and think it is great! What a film! The scary part is that this novel was originally written in 1875, and yet the topics and issues are very contemporary.After watching the film it was no wonder the book has been hidden for so long!!! I felt as if I traveled back in time, to my own adolescence...Raw, passionate, and innocent. While watching this film you will feel that you have experienced love that you shouldn't have!You will be reminded of that youthful passion that was stronger than you wanted it to be. You will be gently reminded of how you were once over powered by a sense of first love/lust.Come on... you remember that crazy willingness to do anything just so you can touch?...to give in to the passionate urge...one so powerful that it might just make more sense to bend our beliefs and our integrity...for just one moment of passion? Oh, the truth and the lies we once told ourselves...just for s...? It must be love, right? Ha! This film also has parallels between older and younger characters to remind us that these feelings do not always leave us even though we grow old. Struggles remain...why? and...So,whose secrets do you know? do you have your own? just how far will you let your passion take you? hmmm...The Crime of Father Amaro is a tantalizing film...pits faith against human nature. This film also has educational value in the secondary characters...it shows how natives of Latin America try to blend pagan idolatry or witchcraft with the modern church. It also shows how the mentally and physically handicap in Latin America barely survive. It shows how the Latin community must depend on the support of family and the church for their sustenance and education. Another film for ardent movie goers. Spanish with English subtitles.