Romero (film)
| Romero | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | John Duigan |
| Written by | John Sacret Young |
| Produced by | Ellwood (Bud) Kieser |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Geoff Burton |
| Edited by | Frans Vanderburg |
| Music by | Paulist Pictures |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
| Countries | United States, Mexico |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $1.3 million[2] |
Romero is a 1989
Plot
During the
The Vatican elevates theologically conservative
After failing to rescue a pro-government hostage of the Pro-Soviet guerrillas in a botched ransom, Romero discovers that his friend Father Osuna (Alejandro Bracho), a militant critic of the military regime, has been captured and tortured. After securing his release, Romero instigates a boycott of the president-elect's inauguration, defying him by saying Mass in a church the Salvadoran military has taken over as a barracks. He later attempts to secure the release of a soldier taken hostage with Fr. Osuna by the guerrillas, but is arrested in the process. Fr. Osuna is subsequently tortured to death, despite Romero's protesting pleas.
Undeterred, Romero rejects the violent methods of the guerrillas, but is nonetheless assassinated while saying Mass, specifically while consecrating the Eucharist. The film concludes with text stating:
Archbishop Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980. He had spoken the disturbing truth. Many chose not to listen. As a result, between 1980 and 1989 more than 60,000 Salvadorians were killed. But the struggle for peace and freedom, justice and dignity goes on.[6]
By 1992, when the
Cast
- Raúl Juliá as Archbishop Óscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador
- Richard Jordan as Father Rutilio Grande, SJ
- Alejandro Bracho as Father Alfonzo Osuña, SJ
- Tony Plana as Father Manuel Morantes, SJ
- Evangelina Elizondo as Josephina Gatedo
- Lucy Reina as Lucia, Poor Campesino. (Fictional Character)
- Ana Alicia as Arista Zelada, An Upper-Class Friend of Romero's. (Fictional Character)
- Omar Chagall as Rafael Zelada, The Minister of Agriculture and Arista's Husband (Fictional character)
- Harold Gould as Francisco Galedo, Arista's Rich Father (Fictional Character.)
- Eddie Velez as Lieutenant Ricardo Columa, Right-Wing Military and Political Leader (Fictional Character)
- Robert Viharo as Colonel Ernesto Dorio (Fictional Character)
- Harold Cannon as General Carlos Humberto Romero, Military Dictator of El Salvador from 1977 to 1979 (No Relation to Archbishop Romero)
- Al Ruscio as Bishop Estrada, The Military Vicar of El Salvador and Opponent of Romero
- Claudio Brook as Bishop Flores, Vacillating Bishop
- Martin LaSalle as Bishop Arturo Rivera y Damas, Bishop of Santiago de María (He Became Archbishop of San Salvador After Romero's Death)
- Eduardo López Rojas as Bishop Cordova, An Ally of Romero
- Tony Perez as Father Rafael Villez, Secretary of The Bishops' Conference
Production
An international co-production between the United States and Mexico, Romero is the first feature film from
Reception
Romero was generally well received by critics. The film holds a 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews.[8] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a mildly positive review, awarding it two and a half stars out of four. Ebert praised Julia's "restrained and reasonable" performance but felt that the film was predictable and therefore not as powerful as other biopics.[4] Spirituality and Practice gave the film a positive review stating it as an "excellent drama" with most of the praise going towards Raul Julia in his performance as Romero.[citation needed]
Romero did receive criticism on how it did not shed light on US involvement. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times stated the fact that "the film doesn't deal with the role of the American government in El Salvador's plight, beyond a plea from Romero for the US to stop sending arms that will be only used against his country's people."[9] Vincent Canby of The New York Times thought that the film "is more important as the brief, considerably simplified biography of a heroic man than as cinema. The film's manner is that of a textbook."[10]
References
- ^ "Reel American History - Films - List".
- ^ "Romero". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ Roth James (March 2001). "What is wrong with "Romero" Film". JROTH. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ a b c Roger Ebert (September 8, 1989). "Romero movie review & film summary (1989)".
- ^ "El Salvador remembers Archbishop Romero". BBC. 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
- ^ Romero. Dir. John Duigan. By John Sacret Young. Prod. John Sacret Young. Perf. Raul Julia and Richard Jordan. Four Seasons Entertainment, 1989.
- ^ Sirico, Robert (n.d.). "Liberation Cinema: A Review of Romero". Web Page. Action Institute. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ "Romero". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (September 15, 1989). "'Romero' Fails to Explore the Depths of Central American Tragedy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
- ^ Vincent Canby (August 25, 1989). "Romero (1989)". Film Review. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
