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One of the problems this reviewer had with Roman Polanski's The Pianist, was just when you thought things could not get worse for the main character, it did. It became a downward spiral of "The Perils of a Pianist," and such is the situation with Carlos Carrera's The Crime of Father Amaro. The title tells it all. A priest (or in this case several priests) have committed wayward acts, but the story centers on Amaro (Bael Garcia Bernal from Traffic.)

The film begins with a country bus in Mexico, slowly going from one town to another. A young man in shirtsleeves sits with an older man and strikes up a conversation. The bus stops, ostensibly to aid a young woman with a broken down car, but this is a ruse. There are accomplices, guns drawn, a fast robbery and quick getaway. Shocked, the passengers calm themselves. The young man gives money to the old man, sensing the elder person lost much. Alas, the kindness of his young man (Father Amaro) is one of the few he is capable of because later temptations of the flesh and money are intoxicating and overwhelming. The older priest of the parish (Sancho Gracia) has a mistress (Angelica Aragon) and is financing a large hospital through money from a drug dealer. This is a secret, as the people think the money comes from the generous mayor and his wife. The community is one of secrets, each one connected to another until they lead back to the church confessional, where absolved, the secret holders begin to carry new secrets.

Father Amaro, who shows surprise at the affair of his superior, soon finds himself falling for a young girl (Ana Claudia Talacon) who is continually arguing with her boyfriend (Gaston Melo), an aggressive reporter. When Father Amaro crosses the line and sleeps with the girl, he thinks no one knows, but the walls have eyes and ears. This threatens relations between the older priest and his mistress, between priests in the jungle who minister to guerillas, and the drug dealer and the church. So, just when you think things can't get worse, they do.

As Father Amaro, Gael Garcia Bernal gives a one-note performance. His character creates no interest because his acting is simply shrugs or long, mournful stares. Ana Claudia Talacon's character is so clingy you long to say, "Brush her off." The long-term romance between the older priest and his widowed mistress carries a tone of need. They are lonely people. Scenes between Talacon and her reporter boyfriend ring true. He is the older, experienced man while she is the schoolgirl pleased by his advances. Bringing the crime of drug dealing into the parish, though, makes one wonder about motives and this is not explained in the script. I wanted more of the background of the older priest and the head of this drug organization. Also, the guerilla-sympathetic priests in the jungle have their story, but this isn't dealt with, either. Why is the church eager to excommunicate them? 

There are two sub-stories that added to the film, but, unfortunately, they are not fully fleshed out. One concerns the lay-assistant to the elder priest. This man carries many secrets but tells none. He cares for an invalid-epileptic daughter. The other story is of an older woman in the parish who, apparently, knows absolutely everything there is to know about anyone. She pretends to put coins in the collection plate but silently palms paper money back. Her humble abode is riddled with stray cats and is a combination of Catholicism and native worship. In another film, she would take out the drug dealer with a puff of smoke.

The Crime of Father Amaro is a controversial film. It purports to disarm the church through expose and shows graft, carnality and the keeping of secrets. A story is a story and whether you want it to be controversial or not depends on the setting. If you would take this plot and put it into another setting, it would be a story of strife within a family. Reference The Godfather trilogy. Celibacy could refer to not sleeping with the crime boss's wife or daughter. Or, it could be within the military or the judicial system. As it stands, The Crime of Father Amaro shows that even a man with morals and scruples falls for a pair of flashing eyes. 

Copyright 2003 Marie Asner
Submitted 1/29/03