The Crime of Padre Amaro

REVIEW
As if the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t already have a bad rep, this adept Mexican drama drives one more stake into the heart of Catholic ideals. When young new priest Father Amaro (Bernal) joins the parish of a small Mexican town, he arouses spiritual interests from many and other interests from local teenager Amelia (Talancón). One thing leads to another and soon the new priest is taking Amelia to private locations to “prepare her to be a nun” as described to one inquisitor. Father Amaro climbs aboard the same corruption train that carries his mentor Father Benito (Gracia), another fornicating priest who also has been accepting drug money to build a new hospital. With such controversial themes, the film is still handled with class and without the feeling of a dime store pulp novel. Bernal sensitively approaches this material and generates humanity out of a priest whose unwise and disturbing choices are borne from a fractured religious consciousness. (Spanish with English subtitles)