After having been completely engrossed with the performance of Bernal in 'Y tu mama tambien', I must say I was a bit disappointed with El Crimen. Yes, there was relevance to current cultural ideas, just like the former, but that's not all that makes a movie good. I went into the theater expecting to see some reflections of my own uneasy feelings about the Catholic Church and organized religion in general. I got that but it was not enough. I think what I needed was character development. The character of Padre Amaro went from innocent child of God right to biggest sinner in the town without a clear pathway. I probably blame that more on the writers and director than the actors, but they were not entirely guilt-free, I'm afraid. On the other hand, I felt the filmography was superb. Having been to many remote areas of Mexico, I really felt like I was back there with the richness of the scenery. *As for the Oscars, I don't expect it to win anything. I saw Hable con Ella the same night and it was much better, so I can only assume Spain's entry in the Foreign Language category (which beat Hable con Ella) is hugely better. Still, I would recommend this movie for anyone patient enough to read the subtitles (the Spanish dialog was less than clear) and interested in seeing a bit of how Mexico really is.
Review of The Crime of Padre Amaro
