The Crime of Father Amaro (2002) El crimen del padre Amaro (original title)

Director:

Carlos Carrera

Writers:

Eça de Queirós (novel)
Vicente Leñero

Release Date:

16 August 2002 (Mexico)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Lead us not into temptation

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Church | Priest | Mexico | Bishop | Drugs

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 21 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

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
Fernando Becerril	...	Galarza
Jorge Zárate	...	Padre Mauro
Rosa María Castillo	...	Chepina
Blanca Loaria	...	Getsemaní
Juan Ignacio Aranda	...	Chato Aguilar
Martín Zapata	...	Agente MP / MP Agent
Dagoberto Gama	...	Lucas
Rogelio Rojas	...	Fotógrafo / Photographer
Jorge Castillo	...	Matías
Mario Figueroa	...	Chente
Enrique Vásquez	...	Asaltante 1 / Assailant No. 1
Cristo Yánez	...	Asaltante 2 / Assailant No. 2 (as Cristo Yáñez)
Marina Vera	...	Mujer Asaltante / Woman Assailant
Leticia Valenzuela	...	Doctora / Doctor
Raúl Azkenazi	...	Hueso
Carmen Giménez Cacho	...	Madre Hada
Roberto Linares	...	Tiburón
Víctor Hernández	...	Guaraura
Isidra Morales	...	Comadre Dionisia / Dionisia's Friend
Ines Cuspinera	...	Madrina Bebé Chato / Chato Baby's Godmother (as Inés Cuspinera)
Martha Posternak	...	Esposa Chato Aguilar / Chato Aguilar's Wife
José Luis Caballero	...	Padrino Bebé Chato / Chato Baby's Godfather
Vanesa Barba	...	Bebe Chato / Chato Baby
Paloma Cobos	...	Empleada MP / Pleading MP
Enrique Gilardi	...	Amigo Narco 1 / Drug Dealer Friend No. 1
Jaime Cancino	...	Amigo Narco 2 / Drug Dealer Friend No. 2
Pablo Hoyos	...	Amigo Narco 3 / Drug Dealer Friend No. 3
Daniel Posterman	...	Amigo Narco 4 / Drug DealerFriend No. 4
Daniel Posternak	...	Amigo Narco 4 / Drug Dealer Friend No. 4
Dino Demichelis	...	Amigo Narco 5 / Drug Dealer Friend No. 5
Ana C. Izquierdo	...	Enfermera / Nurse
José Guadalupe Pintor	...	Sacristán Nuevo / New sexton
Alejandro Álvarez	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Sergio Navarro	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
José Santos	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Miguel Ángel Álvarez	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Ma. del Rosario Rodríguez	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Lilia Hernández	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Beatriz Álvarez	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Ángel Cristian Cruz	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Selena Hurtado	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
Norma Angélica González	...	Coro "Siquem" / "Siquem" Choir
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pope John Paul II	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Carlos Carrera

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Eça de Queirós		novel
Vicente Leñero

Produced by
Claudia Becker	....	associate producer
Daniel Birman Ripstein	....	producer
Scot Evans	....	associate producer
Laura Imperiale	....	executive producer
Atahualpa Lichy	....	associate producer
José María Morales	....	co-producer
Alfredo Ripstein hijo	....	producer (as Alfredo Ripstein)

Original Music by
Rosino Serrano

Cinematography by
Guillermo Granillo

Film Editing by
Óscar Figueroa

Casting by
Claudia Becker
Sandra León Becker

Art Direction by
Carmen Giménez Cacho

Set Decoration by
Ivonne Fuentes

Costume Design by
María Estela Fernández		(as Mariestela Fernández)

Makeup Department
Aurora Chavira	....	makeup artist
Tere Chávez	....	hair stylist
Sylvia Fernández	....	assistant hair stylist
Marco A. Garcia	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Fernando Huberman	....	production manager: Argentina

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Efren del Moral	....	second assistant director
Miguel Lima	....	first assistant director
Julian 'Chico' Valdez	....	assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Luis Alderete	....	painter
Israel Borges	....	painter
Sebastián Cauvet	....	art department assistant
Bernardo De La Rosa	....	art department assistant
Rodolfo Martinez	....	construction manager
Mariana Omaña	....	art department coordinator
Diego Tellez	....	on-set dresser
Carlos Torres	....	property master (as Carlos Torres)

Sound Department
Saúl Almaráz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matías Barberis	....	dialogue editor
Nerio Barberis	....	sound designer
Natalia Bruschtein	....	dialogue editor
Rubén Buelta	....	sound effects: Argentina
Neto Gaytán	....	sound mixer (as Ernesto Gaytán)
Thanos Kazakos	....	sound re-recording mixer: English dubbing
Mario Martínez	....	sound designer
Felipe Meléndez	....	sound mixer
Santiago Núñez	....	sound mixer
Rubén Santeiro	....	sound effects: Argentina
Alexander Schwartz	....	foley artist
Rosario Tapia	....	sound effects coordinator
Felipe Zavala	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Sergio Jara Jr.	....	special effects assistant
Sergio Jara	....	special effects coordinator

Stunts
Oscar Cantua	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Adrian Enriquez	....	third assistant camera
Miguel Enríquez	....	first assistant camera
Federico García	....	still photographer
Iwao Kawasaki	....	director of photography: second unit
Andrés León Becker	....	director of photography: second unit
Froylán López	....	gaffer
Abel Martinez	....	electrician
Victor Muro	....	electrician
Omar Muñoz	....	video assist operator
Salvador Orendain	....	electrician
Moisés Salazar	....	electrician
Luis David Sansans	....	Steadicam operator (as Luis Sansans)
Antonio Uruñuela	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Ernesto Cairo	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rodolfo Cruz	....	assistant costumer
Marga Lozada	....	assistant costumer
Margarita Lozada	....	wardrobe: set
Rafael Ravello	....	assistant costumer

Editorial Department
Alberto Acevedo	....	color timer: Argentina
Nerio Barberis	....	post-production
Héctor Belvedere	....	negative cutter: Argentina
Alejandro Clancy	....	post-production
Susana González	....	assistant negative cutter
Lilia Lupercio	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Saúl Almaráz	....	music mixer
Emanuel Ax	....	musician: piano for "Piano Concert No. 5, Adagio un poco mosso"
Ariel Barreras	....	musician
Juan Carlos Ertze	....	music mixer assistant
Juan Carlos Ertze	....	music preparation: score
Joel Numa	....	musician
Valeria Palomino	....	associate music recordist
Rosino Serrano	....	conductor
Rosino Serrano	....	orchestrator
Rosino Serrano	....	producer: original score

Transportation Department
Edmundo Pérez	....	production driver

Other crew
Victoria Alberca	....	representative: Wanda Films (as María Victoria Alberca')
José Luis Caballero	....	legal assistant
Rodolfo González	....	location manager
Juan Pablo Goya	....	coordinator: Alameda Films
Blanca Lidia Guzmán	....	production coordinator
Raul Jacome	....	production accountant
Teul Moiron	....	location manager: Veracruz
Gabriela Monroy	....	continuity
Héctor Montalvo	....	assistant extras coordinator
Marcedes Moreno	....	production assistant
Silvia Requena	....	representative: Wanda Films
Esperanza Reyes	....	production secretary
Claudio Tarrabe	....	title designer: Argentina
Luis Villarreal	....	production assistant

Thanks
Francisco Rabal	....	dedicatee (as Paco Rabal)

Production Companies

• Alameda Films
• Artcam International
• Blu Films
• Cinecolor
• Fondo para la Producción Cinematográfica de Calidad (FOPROCINE)
• Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz
• Ibermedia European Community Program
• Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE)
• Videocolor
• Wanda Films

Distributors

• Barbar Film (2003) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Italia (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Columbia Pictures
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2003) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2003) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment

Other Companies

• Alpha Control  security: Mexico
• El Buen Gourmet  catering: Xalapa
• Global Images  transfers
• Mexfilm Orchestra  music performed by

Also Known As:

"El crimen del padre Amaro" - Mexico (original title)
"The Crime of Padre Amaro" - USA (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, language and some disturbing images

Runtime:

USA:118 min

Country:

Mexico | Spain | Argentina | France

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico

Company:

Alameda Films

Trivia:

This movie began creating controversy even before it was released. Several groups, most of them related to church, tried to ban the movie. They did not succeed; instead, tickets were sold out on opening weekend.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: 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.

Quotes:

Father Amaro:Tell me your sins, child.
Amelia:You already know them. And your sins?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Vecinos: Cursos de verano (#2.13)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Corrido del Padre Amaro

When Sensuality and Spirituality Combine Passions

The release of the film THE CRIME OF PADRE AMARO caused about as much of an uproar in Mexico in 2002 as the publication of the novel, written by Jose Maria Eca de Queiroz, caused in 1875. With its dangerously intertwining themes of spiritual ecstasy and sexual passion, it's not hard to see why. At the heart of the story is a young priest who wrestles in a major way with the tempting hungers of his body and the grace-filled yearnings of his spirit. It does not help that, to pursue his vocation, he is sent to a town sustained by a culture of corruption.

One thing actor Gael Garcia Bernal does not know how to do is give a bad performance, and in the movie's title role he captures brilliantly all the agonizing ambiguity that comes with being a young adult male intent on asserting his masculinity while also serving the spiritual needs of his community. Unfortunately, his happily deluded demeanor meets with an equally intense personality in the form of Amelia, a devout young devotee acted with mesmerizing perfection by the gorgeous Ana Claudia Talancon. Amelia idolizes the young priest as a true and noble holy man whose sexuality is made sacred by his presumably pure soul. He in turn dares to drape her in a cape reserved for representations of the Madonna and recites to her from Solomon's "Song of Songs" as they seduce each other. Controversial? Better believe it.

As in the film THE HEALER (please see companion review) "The Crime of Padre Amaro" depicts sexuality and spirituality as equally powerful forces of attraction capable of producing very different results, which will not be revealed here. The outcome in "The Crime of Padre Amaro" is shocking in more ways than one and well worth contemplating for a long time.

by Author-Poet Aberjhani, author of "Christmas When Music Almost Killed the World"