So El Crimen del padre Amaro was quite a downer. Did anything good ever happen in this movie? Lets retrace our steps. On the bus, they all get held at gun point and robbed. Padre Amaro meets Padre Benito Diaz and quickly finds out he's having an affair with the maid. Then we find out he's making deals with a drug dealer to build his church. Padre Natalio, who we think is one of the better guys in the film for opposing Benito and trying to lift up his people against the drug trafficking, then has one of his men stab to death the lowly photographer and then Natalino lies about sending the photos to the newspaper, which is threatened over advertising by Amaro if the rebuttal is not run on the first page. Amaro has an affair with the maid's daughter in front of crippled woman suffering from cerebral palsy, who is later forced out of her home with her father because he, a masterful sexton who beats women, is fired by the oh so innocent Amaro. The maid's daughter ex boyfriend Ruben (probably the best guy in the film) loses it and attacks Amaro calling him derogatory homosexual terms. Amaro declines to press charges (maybe the happiest moment in the film). The bishop, maybe the only good guy (besides the journalist of course) strips down nude and we have to watch him jump in the bath. Was it necessary? No. The humanity! When Amelia dies, Amaro blames it on Ruben, spreading rumors that it was his child. Abortion hemorrhages, scandalous priests, the corrupt lady singing and shoving communion down the woman's throat, this movie had it all. If there was maybe one decent moment it's when the old man cowboy hat and all, offers Amaro a smoke. Just to show people never forget the good in people. But really thematically, this has absolutely nothing to do with this film, try as you might. So while I found the film captivating, I'd have to give it a thumbs down because I really never gained anything from it. It took one direction and never stopped spiraling down.
Review of The Crime of Padre Amaro
