MovieChat Forums > El crimen del padre Amaro (2002) Discussion > This film is a hate crime against Cathol...

This film is a hate crime against Catholics


If any other world religion's sacraments or deepest held convictions were trashed like this film trashes Catholics, there would be a public outcry.

I'm sick and tired of our being the only group whom Hollywood can trash with impunity, and then have mealy-mouthed so-called "film critics" applaud the sensitivity and intelligence of a film where one of the actresses removes the Holy Eucharist from her mouth and feeds it to a cat.

This is a hate crime.

And no decent person, if they look in their heart, can support this kind of insult against ANYONE's faith. Period.




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I'm sick and tired of our being the only group whom Hollywood can trash with impunity


Bull. Muslims are constantly labelled as terrorists in films all the time.

Back the Future
True Lies
Naked Gun 3
Three Kings
The Seige
Swordfish
The Insider
Maryam

These names come from the top of my head. There are probably dozens and dozens of other films making Muslims look like dirt, not to mention the constant insults we hear and see in TV shows.

When a so called "muslim" commits an act of violence, they are labelled as "terrorists", scums of the earth. Yet when a Christian does it, they are only called anti-American. Does Waco and Timothy McVeigh ring a bell? It's the double standard that pisses me off.

Statistics say that 1/10 Ministers sexually assault young children. Some Churches have not only kept quiet about it, but have transfered those perverts to other Churches where they can assault more young children.

A crime is a crime, it doesn't matter who does it.

By the way, I didn't see this movie, but I assume it's about a Father committing a crime against a young child.

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The Siege was hardly labelling all Muslims as terrorists. Quite the opposite, in fact. One of the central points in the film was the tragic racism (concentration and interrogation) perpetrated against innocent Muslim Americans. Three Kings took a serious look at some of the innocent Muslim victims of the Gulf War, and as far as "villains" I can only recall Iraqi soldiers, not terrorists. Not to mention the scene in which the Iraqi interrogator offers us a glimpse into the cause of his American hatred, which shows that it is not mindless murder, but desperation that leads many to acts of violence. Back to the Future merely took a random country (Lybia) which could conceivably harbor terrorists, and used it. Honestly, I don't think a group of Acadian Separatists from the wilds of New Brunswick would be terribly plausible ("In the name of Evangeline!!!!"). I can see a bit of a case to be made against True Lies, but I really think people took it too hard. I understand the sensitivity, but the movie was so far from serious, at no point did it occur to me that these were MUSLIM terrorists, simply terrorists. The film needed a villain, took a real-world-based premise, and blew it up to outrageous proportions. Most Germans I see in films are terrorists or Nazis, but I don't think that Germans are evil. It's common sense, and it's awfully rare these days. If more people thought about what they watched instead of simply reacting, we wouldn't have these issues. The Insider was based on fact, and the scene in question was brief and far from suggestive of racial/religious causality in terrorism.

And please tell me that you don't take Naked Gun 3 seriously!


To conclude.... actually, I agree with you. I just wanted to clarify some points about the films you mentioned. Catholics are far from the only Hollywood punching bag the first poster makes them out to be. Look at men--if I believed everything I saw on TV, I'd be convinced that I couldn't clean a bathtub just because I'm male, but look at me scrub! Okay, not the best example, but you see my point, I hope.

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Very well put Forbes.
But as a man i just have one question: Exactly what do the words Clean and scrub mean? because of course as a man i'm far to stupid tofigure out these concepts on my own.

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[deleted]

Ok so if all terrorists are muslims how come ive never seen James Bond shoot a Muslim. thtat means all Russians are evil, meglamaniacs, if we just look at bond films.
three kings is set in Iraq or somwhere in tht regoin and therfore the soldiers aern't exactly going to come across a band of raving Scots!

this film isn't an attack on the catholic faith but an investigation into the obvious ongoing corruption that has been the backbone of the faith forever. and maybe a critique of priests not ebing able to indulge in lifes simplest pleasures.

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[deleted]

To clairify, he has a more than consensual affair with a female parishiner his own age which is based, i think, on pure love (and cynics would at least admit to pure attraction.) This relationship is not in the least harmful until, at his urging, she has an abortion which goes wrong and she bleeds to death on the way to the hospital.

Although there are several other examples of corruption in this particular diocese, at no point does the director claim that the film is meant to represent the entire church or international priesthood.


Coming out of the Mexican cinema, this movie doesn't represent Hollywood's views at all.

See the movie if you're gonna comment, dude!

The Devil's Avocado

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Hardly a young child, it was a young woman, but you know, same idea.

Keep in mind this movie is based on a novel written in the late 1800's (I believe, I may be wrong, I have been before...LoL)

I am Catholic, and I have had a very good experience being Catholic, but this is something that happens, that we don't always find out on the news is another story, but be it religion or politics or whatever, there is always someone in power taking advantage of someone that isn't, and thats something that lots of viewers of this movie fail to pick up on...



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[deleted]

I agree with you completely!!!

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[deleted]

Stating that muslims and christians are being treated as equals by Holywood is false. I have never seen a movie, nor do I know of ANY Hollywood movie which labels muslims in a bad way.
The fact is that all the movies with "muslim" terrorists are not being judged on religious factors. They are simply terrorists from countries which has the islam as main religion. These movies do not try to redicule and do not try to make the muslim religion bad in any way. It is not surprising that these terrorists are the main inspiration, since the most fanatic terrorist come from the middle east. But the fact remains that apart from the Dutch movie "Submission", there is no other movie which critizises the muslims.
However, the Christian religion has been rediculed in numerous movies. Stating that this is because of the christian past is nonsense. None of us were present at the time, so how can any of use feel grudge about what happened? No, the reason lies in the simple fact that this was already predicted centuries ago by Jesus. We would be mocked at because of our faith.

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Actually, the crime was that He (the priest, a young adult) had sex with a Sunday School teacher (a teenager about 16 or 17) but that was not the main problem. The REAL problem was that yhe girl got pregnant, and he refused to have the child because he's career was jeopardized, so he took her to a lousy abortion clinic to KILL his baby (that a crime) but the things got worse and the GIRL DIED in the clinic because of a bad Praxis (medical treatment) THAT`S ANOTHER CRIME.

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[deleted]

Stop being a hipocrite, if you were a true catholic, you shouldn't have given this movie comment the time of day!! Because GOD would have taken care of it! If you are a true CATHOLIC, shame on you for even looking it up! Danny

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[deleted]

wow, you give catholics a bad name.

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I think it is unfair to assume that the sacred nature of religion, or of a deity is an excuse to mask or ignore problems within the institution. I am a practicing Catholic, and I think it's good that we face the problems that for so long have gone untold, and ignored, for this is the only way our church can change for the better. Also, yes, there is a bad media connotation towards the church, and this is in part because the problems within the institution are never addressed or challenged, and thus never given opportunity for change. Apart from being a work of art, this film will create much needed dialougue not only within the church, but also in terms of societal change that is needed not only in Mexico, but everwhere.

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Hola,

Me parece absurdas, incoherentes y poco racionales las observaciones hechas por esta persona.

Espero, con toda sinceridad, que primero conozcas la realidad de la Curia Mexicana y luego presentes tus opiniones. Ojo, dije "curia" y no Iglesia Católica, por que ésta somos todos los católicos. La realidad supera, en muchísimas ocasiones, el deber ser. Debemos abrir nuestros ojos y darnos cuenta de ello de una vez por todas. México es un pais donde la credibilidad de los sacerdotes está en duda. ¿Conoces lo que ocurre en los pueblos más pequeños de la provincia mexicana? Los sacerdotes no van porque argumentan que los "recursos económicos" provistos por esas comunidades no son suficientes. Asimismo, diversos sacerdotes han sido involucrados en escándalos de corrupción, tráfico de influencias, narcotráfico, entre otras. Ese tipo de actitudes son comunes en nuestro país. Ello me permite, entonces, llegar a mi primer punto. La película "El Crimen del Padre Amaro" refleja un aspecto más de mi país. NO ES POSIBLE GENERARLIZARLO.

Ningún ser humano es bueno y malo per se. Si ves la película, entenderás que no es un ataque hacia la institución o las prácticas religiosas. Es, simplemente, un reflejo de lo que ocurre cada vez más en nuestra sociedad y, quizás, en el mundo. Ya se ha visto que todo punto de vista maniqueo, como el que tu defiendes, no lleva a nada bueno. En ese sentido, te recuerdo las luchas religiosas, culturales y étnicas de los últimos 50 años en todo el mundo. Algunas de estas reinvindicaciones tienen su razón de ser y, sólo en algunos casos, están justificadas. Antes de emitir una opinión te invito a entrar en el maravillo mundo de la razón y el análisis. Una opinión seria debe tener una justificación contextual. La tuya, estimado amigo, no la tiene.

México es 87-88% católico. Las prácticas y creencias religiosas son parte de nuestra vida diaria. La forma en que cada individuo las lleva a la práctica varían ad infinitum; pero, finalmente, es una cuestión meramente personal.

Te invito a reflexionar sobre estos temas. A enterarte del contexto que rodea una situación. Con ello, podrías emitir una opinión informada y, tal vez, construtiva.

PD. Sorry. This post is just for the people who speak spanish, for those whose knowledge about the mexican social and political context is good enough to understand the movie, and/or for those whose criteria is not influenced by manicheism.

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Hi there,

I will not reply in Spanish since I can't write it well enough, although I understand it. I would just like to add something to your message - although I have not seen the film and thus cannot comment on the possible adaptations made, one must also bear in mind that this story is originally set in late 19th Century Portugal, not early 21st Century Mexico.

I understand this may have little to do with the film, if the story has beem very much changed, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I must say I'm very curious about this film... how did they manage to 'translate' it into 21st Century Mexico? :)

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Shugart?

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"PD. Sorry. This post is just for the people who speak spanish, for those whose knowledge about the mexican social and political context is good enough to understand the movie, and/or for those whose criteria is not influenced by manicheism. "

What a bigot you are.

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If this was a place to point out all of the contradictions of the catholic faith, I would love to go on a rant, but this isnt the time, nor place, for that. I am a Buddhist, but if anyone feels the need to portray sacrements of Buddhisms in an unfavorable light, I will APPLAUDE them if they make the movie well because that is the RIGHT and DUTY of art. The fact that it offends whoever you are is irrelavant. If you really wanted to hurt the makers of the movie, keep your mouth closed about it, because now after reading your post, I really wanna watch it.
Feeding the waffers to a cat.... GOLDEN!
The Last Temptation of Christ blasted much of what the Christian religion believes, not catholics. but it was a great movie that restored my faith in Jesus and destroyed more my thoughts toward Catholic and Protestant belief. Honestly, Christ would be offended by the way he is used by organized religion... oops almost got off on a rant.
THE ONLY SIN IS HARMING OTHERS!
everything else sounds like gibberish in God's ear.

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matti0:

I am not saying that it is okay for priests to have sex WHILE they are still priests, or that pre-marital sex has no moral ramifications, but I think that Padre Amaro's "real crime" was in trying to cover up his affair so that he could remain a priest by driving his girlfriend to an illegal abortion clinic. You wrote that, "the only sin is harming other," so I hope you agree that Padre Amaro was wrong to act in a way that harmed his girlfriend and their unborn baby.

If he had been mature enough to admit to himself that he was not really meant to be priest, maybe this movie would not have ended so tragically. Don't Buddhist monks have to be celibate too? Anyway, there is no shame in walking away from the priesthood, only in remaining when the reason for joining no longer exists.

LOL,

Veronica


LOL,

Veronica

"In the end, all that matters is what you've done."- Alexander (2004)

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First of all if your Faith is so feels insulted by a film, then, you must review your beliefs. You can't just say that it is an insult. If you say that, probably the whole world would just be a huge insult to each other's religions. I personally don't agree with the word Religion. I don't agree with religions. They create this stupid abyss between people, just because people are stupid enough to actually believe that there is an abyss between their religions. You can't say that you feel insulted. This movie was written by a Portuguese (like me), brought up as a catholic (like me). This is based on a 19th century novel. So if you want to argue with someone, go to his grave at Cemiterio dos Prazeres in Lisbon and piss him off. Personnally he is one of my favourite writers and he brought a lot of change to the literary movement not only in Portugal, but also in the world. Thesse people who can schock the sensible one's opinion are called "visionaries". I don't know if you ever heard of that. Probably in "Nerdland" where you live or just inside your head, this is too much for you. Guess what? The world as you know it today with these computers you use to write your Medieval nonsense on the Internet wouldn't exist without these visionaries. They are the ones who keep the world moving with critic, sarcasm, innovation... you might not like it, but then again, nobody wants to please just you!

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Oh, come on. Think twice. The script of this movie is taken from a 19th century book, if you had a litle more of culture you should know it, so don't blame hollywood, even because this filme is maxican, not from hollywood. If you ever thought about reading the book, you will see that the problem of whether priests should or should not marry, the problem of whether priests comit sin (in this case the sin of the flesh) is thought about since ever. If you were a true catholic you would see that priests sin. They are no better than I or anyone. It is the problem of the church, because they are forbidden to marry, or to be with a woman. Only this makes it a sin, for us isn't a sin, is it? Read the bible, Jesus loved Mary Magdalene. Don't be so short-sighted. Accept the critic.

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F***ck Off ...!!!

This is a great film, the story so far is a love story wich envolves sin and other things that church disaprove, so i say, F**ck off, the film is great and Carrera is a great director, not to mention that Leñero is a genious in the writting.

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>>the story so far is a love story wich envolves<<

Love story? you got a weird view of love, chief. If you love someone you don't tell them your job comes first, that they should be unhappy, that they're nothing more than a puta. You don't slap someone you love and call her names. You certainly don't pressure someone you love and shrug off the fact that she just mentioned that she's going to look up her ex.

While a decent movie, this film focused more on Father Amaro's quick fall from grace. He arrived a pious, good-hearted chap and quickly found himself lusting after power and a hotty even when the decent side of him told him both actions were wrong. By the end his decisions had killed a girl...hardly a love story.

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blueguydotcom, you're right! this film is hardly a luv story but rather an erotic story. padre amaro found amelia as a sexual object to indulge his desires rather than an affectionate luver.

goody, Princess Tesariel

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Although I agree with you in sentiment (There have been problems within the Catholic Church for many centuries), there is a fact missing.

Anyone who has seen the film may recall seeing the words LOS REYES, MEXICO, 2002 at the very beginning of the movie.

It's right when the bus Padre Amaro is on passes a group of children playing by kicking each others' feet by the side of the road. Doubtless this is to emphasize that problems with how the Catholic Church treats its most humble and devoted servants who have given their lives to God (by denying them the joy and sacrament of human partnership) are as current as they always were, and are getting more urgent with the allegations of sexual abuse by priests with no sexual outlet.

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Ummmm...hate to tell ya, but the film was based on a novel written over 125 years ago. That means that someone from the late 19th century Mexico had a "grudge" against the church before the filmmakers did.

And as for Hollywood bashing the church with impunity, there are Muslims/Arabs portrayed as oil moguls and terrorists, gays/lesbians portrayed as drug addicts and perverts, Italians portrayed as Mafiosos, and Jews portrayed as frugal Christ-killers--your argument's a bit untenable.

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"That means that someone from the late 19th century Mexico had a "grudge" against the church before the filmmakers did."

It´s a portuguese novel, not mexican.

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Dathaler:

Ummmm...hate to tell ya, but the film was based on a novel written over 125 years ago. That means that someone from the late 19th century Mexico had a "grudge" against the church before the filmmakers did.


Actually the novel written was from 19th century Portugal. It's a portuguese novel by José Maria Eça de Queiroz, called O Crime do Padre Amaro

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ecade.htm

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JenniferLourie:

I don't know if I would go so far to say as this film was a "hate crime" but I can tell you that I was DEEPLY disturbed by this movie and I am Jewish! I can only imagine how a Catholic must feel watching this completely blasphemous movie that as far as I could tell, was compeletly WITHOUT A POINT!!


Maybe you should read the book. The film is not blasphemous. The actions of the characters are blasphemous. This stuff happens. It's only truth telling.

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