Re El Crimea del Padre Amaro (2002):

No matter how pervasive Catholicism is, or how much headway Protestantism makes, in a country like Mexico, there will still be Latino directors and other artists who reflexively declare that Christ-followers are hypocrites.

A novel written by Eca de Queiros in the 1870s, the basis for this film, afforded Carlos Carrera the opportunity to communicate this wonderful insight.  He’s the director of this enterprise involving a corrupt fool of a senior priest, a girl-chasing fool of a junior priest, and the pious but sensual girl he chases.  All three live decidedly worldly lives, and they’re not the only ones who do.  The film is both sexy and dark, and the sexiness, I have to concede, is beautifully done.  Not at all uninteresting, El Crimea (The Crime of Father Amaro) is nevertheless basically pedestrian.  And ignorant–ignorant enough, by the way, to shed a measure of sympathy on “liberationist” Christianity, but not on any other form.

(In Spanish with English subtitles.)

El crimen del Padre Amaro

El crimen del Padre Amaro (Photo credit: Wikipedia)