|
|
Article: 'Padre Amaro': More Than Melodrama
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- November 29, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
|
"EL CRIMEN del Padre Amaro" works itself into a lather of passion,
anguish and tragedy, but there's more to this Mexican movie than
straight soap opera.
There is enough incendiary content here to provoke almost every
group, secular or religious, anti- or pro-abortion. And the
controversial film has certainly struck a chord or two in Mexico,
where it has become the biggest domestic box office hit, eclipsing
the records set by "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Amores Perros."
In the movie, a modernized adaptation of an 1875 novel (by Jose
Maria Eca de Queiros), Padre Amaro (Gael Garcia Bernal, star of all
three movies mentioned here) arrives in Los Reyes, Mexico, to lead
the parish. A gentle, ...