| Actors:
| Gael García Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancón, Sancho Gracia, Angélica Aragón, Luisa Huertas | | Format:
| Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | | Language:
| English, Spanish | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish, French | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | | Run Time:
| 118 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| April 22, 2003 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 48 reviews |
|
Average Customer Review:
 ( 48 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 The Best of the New Mexican Cinema!!May 24, 2003
I loved Amores Perros (once I got over the dog fighting) and Y Tu Mama Tambien - to be honest, I did not expect El Crimen del Padre Amaro to come anywhere close to these two gems. I was happily mistaken. The acting was magnificent, the directing apt, and the setting eminently appropriate to the subject matter. The film, based on a Portuguese novel written in 1875, is very apt not only in the context of the Mexican Catholic Church but also in light of recent events in the North American Catholic Church. The film addresses many issues facing the church - celibacy being the most advertised, but also liberation theology, women's rights, corruption, and the church hierarchy in itself. Though it deals specifically with the Catholic Church, this film reaches viewers of all faiths, and its relevance to today's society cannot be stressed enough.Now on to the more specific comments on the DVD version. I found the *extras* to be interesting, especially the movie trailers, but I found the Making-of to be a disappointment in that it did not offer much insight into the process of making the film. The commentary, on the other hand, I did find to be interesting and useful. Overall, the film itself overcomes any flaws in the DVD presentation. If you have not seen this film yet, you need to. It will not be 2 hours wasted.
30 of 34 found the following review helpful:
An Amazingly Powerful FilmApr 23, 2003
By Grady Harp
EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO packs a wallop on many levels. Based on an 1875 novel, this story of the gradual downfall of an idealistic young priest sent out into the reality of the clerical world in the small villages in Mexico updated to contemporary times is unrelentingly fascinating, visually stunning, uncompromisingly frank in its stance on Catholic decadence, and directed and acted with finesse. Gael Garcia Bernal continues to mature as an actor and as a screen presence, making his Padre Amaro metamorphose from committed innocent to fallen sparrow in a wholly credible fashion. Despite our sadness with his bad decisions and choices, Bernal is able to keep us with this complex young priest and in doing so we are able to clearly examine the fragmented state of affairs in the hands of various priests tainted with lust, pride, sloth and a bit of each of the seven deadly sins. Director Daniel Carrera knows how to create both spectacular and intimate scenes and he masterfully leads his gifted cast through a more than difficult story. If there is a tendency to berate this film for its anticlerical stance, then the point of the story is missed. Each of the myriad characters, sacred and profane alike, has a soul of good and one of vulnerability, and given the current tenuous state of the Catholic Church under seige, I think this film helps explain how even men of the cloth can be human. Kudos for Gael Garcia Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancion, Damian Alcazar and all of the fine cast and crew that created this very impressive and disturbing piece of art.
17 of 19 found the following review helpful:
a definite see for Gael fansMar 20, 2005
By anonemouse
Let me start off by saying I am a huge Gael García Bernal fan. This was the movie to take the cake for me with his acting. His portrayal as a lust-striken youthful priest was so convincing it took my breath away. I was thoroughly impressed with being able to see in his eyes the desire and gradual compromises he disolved to. The movie did dish out some pretty hard-hitting statements about corruption within the Catholic church, but what of it? There lacked a certain something in the film's commentary, somewhat one-sided, I'll admit, but I felt this was justified given the story focuses over one man's plight, between his (apparently shakey) convictions and his new-found desires. The title says it all--it's about the sins of one man, Padre Amaro. It is not a thorough exposé of all the Catholic church, in which case there would be truths regarding the bad and the good. Now the reason I gave the movie 4 instead of 5 stars, was simple. The ending was anticlimatic in that it seemed to take the easy way out of a big problem created by our protagonist. The film did too good a job building up the problem making you eagerly anticipate the resolution. The way Padre Amaro takes his final step into "the other side" as a priest, was too easy and quick. I wondered how a character who started off so devout to God's service could not see through his own transparent attempt to explain away his final actions. When people sell out, it tends to be more gradual. Well then again I suppose that's the limitation of films over books. I would recommend this to those who are not overly-defensive of the Catholic church, who can simply enjoy it as a tale of one man's flaws. After all, no one's perfect and that's called humanity.
13 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Excellent, but some minor irritationsMay 26, 2004
By Ryan Davis
Overall the experience of watching this movie was quite good. The acting is superb- with all the characters quite believable, cinematography excellent; all in all a beautiful work. The story itself is also compelling. The problem that I have with the film is less a cinematic problem than a literary problem. A "pet peeve" of mine is when a producer or director feels that he/she can "improve" upon a story that is already an acknowledged masterwork, and makes major changes that are needless. On occasion this is necessary due to the directors desire to focus on a certain aspect of a work, or present a work cinematically that would not normally be "doable" if one stuck closely to the original text (the recent release of "Troy is a good example). I understand that this is often necessary, but at least the director ought to have the good graces to present the work under a different name; thus peterson calls his movie "Troy" and not "the Iliad." I think Bernal made an error by moving the story from rural 19th century Portugal to modern Mexico. The thing that makes this story (and indeed the adapted movie) so compelling is that it contains an element of universality that removes any need to update it. The original book by Eça de Queiróz is as timely now as when he first wrote it. Queiróz also writes novels that are intensely "visual" (if such a word can be applied to writing) and uniquely capable of being adapted to film. It's a minor gripe, and should not dissuade anyone from watching an excellent film, but it remains none the less.
9 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Great Movie... Gael Garcia Bernal is fantastic as alwaysApr 20, 2005
By Carlos Rodriguez
Any movie that discusses the problems going on with the Catholic church is and always will be a subject of controversy. "The Crime of Padre Amaro" is not the exception to the rule. However, I looked at it from an actor's point of view rather than from a religious point. This is (I feel) a very well made movie, the acting is excellent from the entire cast as well as the writing of the script and director Carlos Carrera who I believe did an outstanding job directing this rather controversial film.
I saw the movie because like a lot of people I'm a big Gael Garcia Bernal fan. I have (so far) liked every movie that he has be in. He is truly a fine and gifted actor one of the best from today's generation of young actors. I really enjoyed this movie and even a man of the cloth is allowed to make mistakes (even though they take their vows that they will never break any of the Catholic Church cardinal rules especially never to engage in sexual intercourse with a woman. But after all a priest is no different than any other man simply because he swore off temptation. That is why many of them after years of sacrifice cannot go on hiding their feelings and emotions and leave the priesthood for a chance at a normal life with a woman and a family. Overall this movie is excellent and Gael Garcia Bernal proved one more time what a great actor he is. I encourage everyone to see this film it is really fantastic. Even if you don't speak Spanish (it does come with subtitles) the story is very easy to follow and the language becomes second nature once the film gets going. THE CRIME OF PADRE AMARO, was nominated for an Academy award as Best Foreign film and is a shame that it did not win because I feel that it really deserved it.
See all 48 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
