El crimen del padre Amaro (2002)

Politics and sexual passions threaten to corrupt a young, newly-ordained priest in a small Mexican town.

Director:

Carlos Carrera

Writers:

Vicente Leñero, Eça de Queirós (novel)

Stars:

Gael García Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancón, Sancho Gracia

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gael García Bernal	...	Padre Amaro
Ana Claudia Talancón	...	Amelia
Sancho Gracia	...	Padre Benito Díaz
Angélica Aragón	...	Augustina Sanjuanera
Luisa Huertas	...	Dionisia
Ernesto Gómez Cruz	...	Obispo / Bishop
Gastón Melo	...	Martín
Damián Alcázar	...	Padre Natalio Pérez
Andrés Montiel	...	Rubén de la Rosa
Gerardo Moscoso	...	Doc
Alfredo Gonzáles	...	Viejo / Old Man
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	El Presidente Municipal Gordo / Mayor Gordo (as Pedro Armendáriz)
Verónica Langer	...	Amparito
Lorenzo de Rodas	...	Don Paco de la Rosa
Roger Nevares	...	Padre Galván

Storyline

Recently ordained a priest, 24-year-old Father Amaro is sent to a small parish church in Los Reyes, Mexico to assist the aging Father Benito in his daily work. Benito--for years a fixture in the church as well as the community--welcomes Father Amaro into a new life of unseen challenges. Upon arriving in Los Reyes, the ambitious Father Amaro meets Amelia, a beautiful 16-year-old girl whose religious devotion soon becomes helplessly entangles in a growing attraction to the new priest. Amelia is quickly following into the footsteps of her mother, Sanjuanera, who has been engaged in a long-time affair with Father Benito. Amaro soon discovers that corruption and the Church are old acquaintances in Los Reyes. Father Benito has been receiving financial help from the region's drug lord for the construction of a new health clinic. As well, another priest in the diocese, Father Natalio, is suspected of assisting guerilla troops in the highlands. Maenwhile, Amelia and Father Amaro have fallen in...

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Plot Keywords:

church | priest | mexico | bishop | drugs | 

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Taglines:

Lead us not into temptation

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, language and some disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [fr] Official site

Country:

Mexico Spain Argentina France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

16 August 2002 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

The Crime of Padre Amaro

Filming Locations:

Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$496,290 (USA) (15 November 2002)

Gross:

$5,709,616 (USA) (4 April 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alameda Films, Artcam International, Blu Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2002, this film became the highest-grossing Mexican film of all time (at Mexico's domestic box office), when it surpassed previous record holder, Sex, Shame & Tears, with a total gross of US$ 16.3 million.

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Goofs

When Amaro is carrying Amelia out of the clinic and into the car, the old man who opens the car door and holds it for Amaro slams the car door into the camera, which looses its orientation for a while - and there even is a sound.

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Quotes

Padre Benito: I made you the priest's whore.

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Crazy Credits

"In memoriam Paco Rabal"

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Connections

Referenced in Vecinos: Cursos de verano (2007)

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Soundtracks

"O Ignee Spiritus"
Written by Hildegard von Bingen
Performed by Sequentia

User Reviews

Oh... my... god...

This is, without a doubt, the most controversial mexican film ever. I don't know if people from around the world will understand the impact it had here in Mexico, but here are some hints: a) almost everybody in Mexico is catholic, b) Mexican catholics have an enormous respect for priests.

So, imagine the chaos when a film is about a priest, Father Amaro (García Bernal), who falls in love with a teenage girl (Talancón) and is under the supervision of the local priest, Father Benito (Gracia), who is involved with one of the most wanted drug dealers in the country. And it gets better.

Nevertheless, the film does not criticize the catholic religion; it criticizes people, wether they're in a robe or not (as always, there's a lot of jabs to mexican politics too). "El crimen del padre Amaro" is a movie about human flaws and passions. Passion for a woman, passion for justice, passion for success; even passion for a religion.

Another plus is the performance of each and everyone of the cast members. Everybody is in character and brings to life a great plot. You can't help but thinking "Oh my, now how are they going to get out of this one?".

This one is a must-see. Remember: have an open mind, it's just a (very good) movie.