by MATTHEW HAYS

Gael Garcìa Bernal is such an outrageously pleasurable actor to watch, each performance rich, textured and dimensional. The Crime of Father Amaro is no exception - here, he plays a young, idealistic man in training for Roman Catholic priesthood in small-town Mexico. Bernal has every tick of repression down as Amaro, tortured by the conflict between his calling and his own desire. The role, as it turns out, is a perfect follow-up to the character he breathed so much life into in last year’s hit Y tu mama tambien.

This film manages to feel dated and contemporary at once, due to the book’s original publishing date. The Crime of Father Amaro was written in 1875 by Jose Maria Eca de Queiroz in Portugal; the story focused on several members of the Roman Catholic clergy and the pressures they faced due to their pledges of celibacy. Amaro, insistent on becoming a priest, nonetheless falls in love with one young devout lass (Ana Claudia Talancón), who initially resists his advances but then succumbs. It’s a nasty bind they find themselves in, and director Carlos Carrera certainly makes their plight very, very clear. (The adapted screenplay, it should be noted, was written by Vicente Leñero.) As well as any inner conflicts they may feel, the two can sense the other townsfolk’s suspicions about their bond.

The Crime of Father Amaro is beautifully shot, earnestly written and, last but most importantly, strikingly acted. Where the film becomes less compelling is in its dated quality. Perhaps I’ve been subjected to a few too many blood-soaked movies about Catholic guilt and angst (Christ, haven’t they all lapsed yet?), but I felt a distinct sense of déjà vu as the proceedings rolled along for our protagonist of the cloth, Amaro. That isn’t to slam the film entirely - Father Amaro felt like the case of a tale well told, but one also recounted a few times before. :

The Crime of Father Amaro opens Friday, Feb. 14

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