Father Geek here with a couple of follow-up reviews to the new, sensational Mexican motion picture El Crimen del Padre Amaro that we ran a review of last week... Its actor Gael GarcÃŒa Bernal's latest effort... Before we get to Zdex y El Chato I have this bit of related info...
FYI, this Mexican movie that seems to be generating so much buzz is based on a wonderful 1875 work by the Portuguese novelist Eça de Queirós. From the reviews, it sounds like the adaptation/modernization to set it in contemporary Mexico has gutted the work of a lot of its charm and topicality. That's a shame, since"O Crime do Padre Amaro" would make a powerful movie. If nothing else, perhaps this movie will stir up some American interest in one of Europe's great under-rated literary talents. (The book still doesn't have a good English translation, unfortunately.)
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Father Geek back, now here's our reviews...
hey,
I just read the review you posted on "El Crimen del Padre Amaro." I live en Mexico, and i have to say the controversy generated by this picture is like something that hasn't been seen in a very long time. Frankly, if it wasn't for all the scandal, I wouldn't have seen it. But, I did. And, to the point, I don't think it's that good a movie.
I'd say it's the kind of film that could have been great. It happens all the time, anybody who checks out your site from time to time knows that everyday, a film destined to greatness, with enormous potential, just does live up to it.
The basic idea is good, it's actually loosely based on a very old book. It tries to show how things are handled by the church when nobody's looking, when the herd is poor, ignorant and sometimes blindly faithful. And priests, men nevertheless, find ways, sometimes with good intentions, sometimes without, to take advantage of this.
As an idea, a basic plotline, it's great. The film, on the other hand, isn't. Once you get past introductions, the pltoline is largely predictable. I'm no fan of the church, but you can tell some scenes where put in it just to piss more people off (namely the famed virgin mary scene). And as far as the acting, it really isn't that good. I'd go as far as saying that Gael actually is the worst deliverer in the film. I've always wondered why so many people loved "Y tu mamá también" so much. I didn't see it, but several people I know that happen to have very good taste in film didn't like it at all. My guess is that a lot is lost in the translation or subtitles. If you don't speak very good spanish, you might think a line is delivered right on the spot, when actually it's all wrong. This is basically the case with this movie. Gael get's the accent wrong half the time he speaks... it would be the equivalent of saying some of his lines with a texan accent and others as a new yorker, with the character, of course, being neither. And that detail pretty much blows credibility. Now, don't get me wrong, I think he is a very good actor, Amores Perros was great, I just don't think this is his brightest moment.
Well, that's about all I have to say, could've been great, wasn't so good. The plotline will only take a film as far as the director and actors deliver it. If you wabt to publish this, cool, if not, it's just an opinion.
Read ya later !
Zdex
Father Geek back with another report on the film from deep in the heart of Mexico...
Hola AICN...
This is the first time I have something to write about, I read the review offered by another reader of “Father Amaro’s Crime” and having seen the movie myself last Saturday (while on vacations on Mexico), I like to offer you my own personal review of the film (which is to say the least VERY different from the one published)
First of all I’d like to say I’m very impress with Mexican Cinema in the last couple of years, first Amores Perros, then Por la Libre and finally with Y tu mama tambien, this kind of cinema might be able to bring a new golden age that died with “El Indio” Fernandez. But El Crimen de el Padre Amaro is a lame excuse for a film, the acting is poor as well as the screenplay and the direction; stating the only thing that brought attention to this films is the fact the it criticizes the Catholic church (Being a Catholic myself, I can tell you this film is nor offensive nor relevant) with acts that priests are not suppose to commit (such as receiving bribes, fight for a guerrilla or have sex).
As the other review stated before this is the story of a young, just ordained, priest, sent to a small town by the archbishop; there he will see and become part of a dark side of the church. (he will have sex and impregnate a girl)
Let’s separate the two facts that can drive you to see this film, one the polemic aspect surrounding it and second the film itself
Let’s talk the polemic aspect; remember when you go see a bad comedy, and later when you talk to your friends and you come to the conclusion that they had 3 or 4 good scenes and they tried to make a movie out of that?, well same thing here they got a few polemic subjects and tried to make a film out of it, people it doesn’t work like that. If it wasn’t for this temping idea of watching a film about sinful priests this film wouldn’t even appear on the radar. Now as a catholic, I didn’t find anything offensive or troubling in it, even the most talk about scene in the film (Father Amaro covers his lover with the cape of the Virgin Mary) was very uneventful.
Now as a film it was an expensive shooting my Latin American standards, but the script is very miserable, sometimes the characters don’t find anything to say, or the rely on profanity to avoid the actual conversation or discussion. As of Gael Garcia he is a fine actor (hell, I will never forget the chase scene in Amores Perros), but in this drama he seems tired and without a motivation, not even the conviction of breaking his just given “votes” of chastity, humility and obedience (heck, not even when he is making love to that lovely girl, he expresses emotion.) The film runs over 2 hours and it feels eternal, the lack of dialogs and the terrible acting offered by a good 80% of the cast (leaving only Father Natalio and “La San Juanera” as the only two believeable characters), with empty vessels of characters and making you only believe they didn’t wanted to be in this film.
This film is not going to be the first nor the last movie to attack the church, lets remember Dogma, End of Days and Stigmata, to name a few, so people please think if you spend your $8 bucks to continue encouraging this train-wreck’s filmmakers to continue making empty movies with just polemic subject or push them to make really good films… …polemic or not.
This was “El Chato”
