Nude Wave

Annick Coelmont uses current release El Crimen del Padre Amaro as a excuse to consider whether it's advisable to start thinking about a 'Mexican New Wave' cinema just yet. Especially when its successes are attributable in part to Gael Garcia Bernal's body.

Controversial even before its release and denounced by the Catholic League for its unfavourable portrayal of the church, Carlos Carrera's El Crimen del Padre Amaro has become the most successful film in the history of the Mexican box office. That needn't come as a surprise. Such publicity is as good for this goose as it always has been for the controversy-seeking gander.
The story is based on the 1875 novel by Eça de Quieros. Father Amaro, a recently ordained priest, is posted to the parochial village of Los Reyes. He soon discovers that the other priests in the village, far from being the shepherds their flock look up to, turn out to be wolves in sheeps clothes. Father Benito, money launderer by day, ladies' man by night, and Father Natalio, who collaborates with the guerrilla, are hardly on the path to righteousness.

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 93