The Crime of Father Amaro (film)

Infobox Film
name = El crimen del Padre Amaro


caption =
director = Carlos Carrera
writer = Eça de Queiroz (novel)
Vicente Leñero (screenplay)
starring = Gael García Bernal
Ana Claudia Talancón
producer = Daniel Birman Ripstein
Alfredo Ripstein
music = Rosino Serrano | cinematography = Guillermo Granillo | editing = Óscar Figueroa | distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = August 16, 2002
runtime = 118 min
language = Spanish
budget = $1,800,000 (estimated)
imdb_id = 0313196

"The Crime of Father Amaro" ( _es. El crimen del padre Amaro) is a 2002 Mexican film directed by Carlos Carrera. It is loosely based on the novel "O Crime do Padre Amaro" (1875) by 19th-century Portuguese writer José Maria de Eça de Queiroz.

When it was first released, "El Crimen del Padre Amaro" was very controversial; Roman Catholic groups in Mexico tried to stop the film from being screened. They failed, and the film became the biggest box office draw ever in the country, beating previous record holder, "Sexo, pudor y lágrimas" (1999).

The film starred Sancho Gracia, Ana Claudia Talancon and Gael García Bernal and premiered on 16 August 2002 in Mexico City.

Plot

Gael García Bernal stars as the newly ordained Padre Amaro who arrives in Los Reyes, a small town in the fictional state of Aldama, to start his life serving the church. Young Amaro is soon led into temptation by the beautiful Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancón) a local sixteen-year-old girl whose infatuation with the handsome young priest leads to tragedy.

The film delves into the struggle priests have between desire and obedience. Amaro is plagued with guilt about his feelings for Amelia and as the local press begin to reveal the secrets of the parish, Amaro turns to his superior, Padre Benito (Sancho Gracia), who himself is having a relationship with Amelia's mother. When Amelia becomes pregnant and dies during a backstreet abortion, the ranks of the Catholic Church come together to suppress the lurid details of the case.In 2005 the portuguese version "O Crime Do Padre Amaro" was released to be one of the greatest hits in Portuguese cinema. Two actors Jorge Corrula and Soraia Chaves represented Padre Amaro and Amelia.

Controversy

The film depicts a corrupt local Catholic Church; Benito is shown to have been receiving funds from a drug lord, and there are connections made between the church and the Mexican militia. The scandals portrayed in this powerful film represent many issues pressing the Catholic church and the way it is perceived as operating in many areas of Latin America.

As a free adaptation of José Maria de Eça de Queiroz's novel, the film itself is also controversial for not being faithful enough to the original novel, although this is to be expected as the original novel was published in 1875 but the movie takes place in 2002.

Awards

The film was nominated for a total of 32 awards with 19 wins and was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language film in 2003.

External links

*imdb title|id=0313196|title=El Crimen del Padre Amaro