In El Salvador in the late '70s, the wealthy few rule the impoverished many. To maintain the status quo against peasant insurgents and labor organizations, the military regime brutalizes the populace, in particular, rebels who espouse Marxism. Assassinations, executions, and disappearances become commonplace. When the Vatican elevates conservative Oscar Arnulfo Romero (Raul Julia) to archbishop, the military rulers believe he will quiet the masses and the activist priests who support them. "Blessed are the peacemakers," he will preach. At first, that is precisely what he does. But when soldiers thwart voters, shoot indiscriminately into crowds, torture dissidents, and kill a dedicated priest and friend of Romero, the archbishop condemns the regime in radio messages, rebukes quisling bishops, and leads a peasant march into a church occupied by soldiers. He also insults and defies the El Salvadoran president (Harold Cannon), an iron-fisted general, who, ironically, has the same last name as the archbishop Romero, but is not related. The country by this time is in the throes of civil war. In 1980, when military death squads continue their reign of terror even though the government institutes so-called reforms, Romero continues to speak out, gaining international attention. The film then builds to its climax, a scene recreating the events of Monday, March 25, 1980, when Romero is saying mass for his recently deceased mother. Attendees include four men who have no intention of reciting mea culpas or receiving the Holy Eucharist. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
Review
This 1989 production faithfully chronicles Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero's struggle with his conscience, his brother priests, and a brutal military regime during the seismic social upheaval in El Salvador in 1980. In a deeply affecting performance, Raul Julia portrays the beleaguered Romero -- a kind of 20th century Thomas à Becket -- with such passion and dignity that it is hard to imagine anyone else right for the role. At the beginning of the film, Julia molds himself into a psychological and philosophical replica of Romero: a bookish, old-school prelate who eschews the political activism practiced by radical priests to bring down tyrannical government overlords. One must render to Caesar what is Caesar's, he believes. But after the murders of dissident peasants and priests, Julia's Romero abandons status-quo passivism for peaceful political activism. The transition is slow and subtle, sans epiphany, with Julia displaying as much fear and regret as courage and resolution. And then the day comes when Julia forms his character into a rock of defiance: "You are a liar," he tells the double-dealing El Salvadoran president. The gauntlet is down. Romero's fate is sealed. Like Becket eight centuries before, Romero meets his fate in a cathedral. And also like Becket, he does not die completely. His spirit lives on. Supporting performances are good, and the camera makes a significant contribution to the success of the film with scenes of peasant squalor and aristocratic plenitude. The Paulist Fathers, a Roman Catholic religious order, produced the film on a limited budget -- and prayers. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
Alejandro Bracho - Father Alfonzo Osuna; Claudio Brook - Bishop Flores; Álvaro Carcaño - Soldier; Victor Carpinteiro - National Guard; Evangelina Elizondo - Josephina Gatedo; Regino Herrerra - Campesino; Martin Lasalle - Bishop Rivera y Damas; Rocio Munoz - Campesino; Lucy Reina - Lucia; Eduardo Lopez Rojas - Bishop Cordova; Ruben Rojo - Archbishop Chavez; Al Ruscio - Bishop Estrada; Antonio Serrano - Corporal; Jose Chavez Trowe - Don Manuel; Eddie Velez - Lieutenant Columa; Robert Viharo - Colonel Ernesto Dorio; Abel Woolrich - Campesino; Arturo Rodriguez Doring - Juan; José Escandón - National Guard; Jose Antonio Estrada - Man with Photo Album; Juan Peláez - Ernesto Claramount; Rene Pereyra - Cigarette Man; Damián Alcázar - Campesino; Francisco Mauri - Salvador Ramos; Tony Perez - Father Rafael Villez
Credit
John Duigan - Director, Frans Vandenburg - Editor, Gabriel Yared - Composer (Music Score), Geoff Burton - Cinematographer, Ellwood E. Kieser - Producer, Lawrence Mortorff - Producer, John Sacret Young - Producer, John Sacret Young - Screenwriter
Romero was the first feature film from Paulist Pictures, known for the production of a long-standing television series called Insight. The film was screened in 1989 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was directed by Australian filmmaker John Duigan and produced by Paulist Pictures founder Father Ellwood (Bud) Kieser. Composer Gabriel Yared, who went on to win BAFTA Awards and an Oscar for his other scores, composed the music for Romero.
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