El Crimen Del Padre Amaro

Nominated for the Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars, El Crimen del Padre Amaro revolves around the title character, Father Amaro (the excellent Bernal), a young priest despatched to a rural Mexican settlement to help the parish's elderly pastor, Father Benito (Gracia). Amaro is considered a golden boy and great things are planned for him by his diocese's bishop (Cruz). But he soon realises that his new parish has ambiguous rules concerning the conduct of its priests. Vast quantities of money are being laundered by drug lords, while Benito is conducting an affair with his housekeeper, Augustina (Aragon). To further complicate matters, another priest, Father Natalio (Alcazar) has been accused of helping guerrillas. An idealistic sort, Amaro questions the morality of his fellow clerics. Yet conflict appears in his own life when he finds it impossible to escape the affections of the 16-year-old daughter of Augustina, Amelia (Talancon).

When the Catholic Church threatens to excommunicate the stars of a movie, it's a pretty safe bet the contents are on nodding terms with controversy. And so it is with El Crime del Padre Amaro, a meaty, if unflattering depiction of Catholicism in rural Mexico. Since there's so much going on, the story loses momentum by filtering itself into so many strands. Yet most disappointingly, after asking us to identify with Amaro for so long, the director's ultimate findings on the character are a little inadequate.