Even with all the controversy surrounding it, The Crime of Father Amaro, about a young Mexican priest who succumbs to the lures of both sexual and political corruption, would have been far more effective if its characters had some shadings to them. As it is, no one here wrestles with their faith; they either abandon it at their leisure or embrace it without reservation.
Young Father Amaro (Gael Garcia Bernal) arrives in the village of Los Reyes on a dual mission from the bishop. He's to learn at the feet of the respected Father Benito (Sancho Gracia), and he's to pull in the reins of the renegade liberal Father Natalio (Damian Alcazar), who's been ministering to his flock in the mountains with little regard to the church's politics. Mainly, he's been helping the local guerrillas in their fight against the drug lords who terrorize the region but who give liberally to the church.
Arriving in Los Reyes, Father Amaro finds the entrenched Father Benito flouting his power in the community with little regard for any biblical teachings. He launders fistfuls of cash from the area's biggest drug lord, on the pretense of using the proceeds to build a medical clinic, as though that makes everything all right. And he's sleeping with a local woman (the film doesn't even bother coming up with an excuse for that one).
At first, Father Amaro struggles to maintain his moral bearings. But he doesn't try that hard, especially after getting a look at 16-year-old Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancon), a pious and devout teen-ager who returns his soon-to-be indiscreet passions. Soon, the two are having trysts in a little work shack, on the pretense that he's preparing her for life in a convent, and she's teaching the catechism to an autistic girl.
As one might suspect, a lot of bad ends are going to come to all this.
Director Carlos Carrera, working from an 1875 Portuguese novel, has some disturbing things to say about the church's hold on Mexico and its peoples, particularly in the less-developed regions. While the sort of corruption he depicts most likely exists, it's also probably not as cut-and-dried. Certainly, there are devout priests who manage to work within the system. And there are corrupted priests whose downfalls were the result of considerable spiritual give-and-take within their own consciences, not just an engaging glance from the town beauty.
The American TV series Nothing Sacred did a far more thoughtful, effective job of dramatizing those struggles.
The cast here is strong - Garcia Bernal, who also starred in Amores Perros and Y tu Mama Tambien, is gaining quite an international reputation, while the 22-year-old Talancon's performance is honestly heartbreaking - and the passions put up on the screen are no doubt sincere. But The Crime of Father Amaro (El crimen del Padre Amaro) would have been better served if Carrera had spent a little more energy developing his story and less on emphasizing his message.
The Crime of Father Amaro
Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Sancho Gracia, Ana Claudia Talancon)
Directed by Carlos Carrera
Released by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Rated R (language, sexuality)
Time 118 minutes
Sun score * * 1/2