Romero is a 1989 biographical film depicting the story of Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero, who organized peaceful protests against the violent military regime, eventually at the cost of his own life.[3] The film stars Raúl Juliá as Oscar Romero, Richard Jordan as Romero's close friend and fellow martyred priest, Rutilio Grande, as well as actors Ana Alicia and Harold Gould. Although the film depicts true events, there are some fictional characters.[4]
The Vatican elevates theologically conservative Oscar Arnulfo Romero (Raul Julia) to the position of Archbishop of San Salvador, hoping that with he will not get involved in politics. Although apolitical, Romero is afraid of the government's increasing hostility. He initially refrains from stirring anti-government sentiments, but, as he spends more time as Archbishop, he sees evidence of deception, oppression, and systemic murder, after which he cannot support the government in good conscience and begins to speak out.[4] After the assassination of Father Rutilio Grande (Richard Jordan), an outspoken Jesuit advocate for the poor and close friend of Father Romero's, Romero begins to take a stand against the government's policies, prompting the government to retaliate by ordering to death squads to target the priests of his Archdiocese.[5]
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.
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 Salvadorian Civil War ended (three years after the movie was made), the total number of Salvadorians killed increased to over 75,000.
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 Paulist Pictures, a company founded by the Paulist Fathers, a Roman Catholic society of priests. This was the first time a Catholic company produced a major film.[7] The company was also 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. Alfonso Cuarón, a Mexican film director, worked as an assistant director for this film. Composer Gabriel Yared, who went on to win BAFTA Awards and an Oscar for his other scores, composed the music for Romero. The movie was filmed in Mexico and set in El Salvador.
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]
romero, film, romero, 1989, biographical, film, depicting, story, salvadoran, archbishop, Óscar, romero, organized, peaceful, protests, against, violent, military, regime, eventually, cost, life, film, stars, raúl, juliá, oscar, romero, richard, jordan, romero. Romero is a 1989 biographical film depicting the story of Salvadoran Archbishop oscar Romero who organized peaceful protests against the violent military regime eventually at the cost of his own life 3 The film stars Raul Julia as Oscar Romero Richard Jordan as Romero s close friend and fellow martyred priest Rutilio Grande as well as actors Ana Alicia and Harold Gould Although the film depicts true events there are some fictional characters 4 RomeroDirected byJohn DuiganWritten byJohn Sacret YoungProduced byEllwood Bud KieserStarringRaul Julia Richard Jordan Ana Alicia Harold Gould Eddie Velez Tony PlanaCinematographyGeoff BurtonEdited byFrans VanderburgMusic byGabriel YaredProductioncompanyPaulist PicturesDistributed byWarner Bros Release dateAugust 25 1989 1989 08 25 Running time102 minutesCountriesUnited States MexicoLanguageEnglishBudget 3 5 million 1 Box office 1 3 million 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksPlot EditDuring the 1977 El Salvadoran presidential election public unrest is at an all time high over fears of election fraud In the midst of a Marxist Leninist guerrilla insurgency by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front the anti communist military dictatorship uses death squads to abduct torture and disappear anyone who speaks about their terrible human rights record The military also prevents average voters from getting to the polls soldiers are shown blocking a bus bringing people to town on election day When the people decide to walk the military shoots up their vans so that they have no transportation for the return journey The Vatican elevates theologically conservative Oscar Arnulfo Romero Raul Julia to the position of Archbishop of San Salvador hoping that with he will not get involved in politics Although apolitical Romero is afraid of the government s increasing hostility He initially refrains from stirring anti government sentiments but as he spends more time as Archbishop he sees evidence of deception oppression and systemic murder after which he cannot support the government in good conscience and begins to speak out 4 After the assassination of Father Rutilio Grande Richard Jordan an outspoken Jesuit advocate for the poor and close friend of Father Romero s Romero begins to take a stand against the government s policies prompting the government to retaliate by ordering to death squads to target the priests of his Archdiocese 5 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 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 Salvadorian Civil War ended three years after the movie was made the total number of Salvadorians killed increased to over 75 000 Cast EditRaul Julia as Archbishop oscar Romero archbishop of San Salvador Richard Jordan as Father Rutilio Grande SJ Alejandro Bracho as Father Alfonzo Osuna 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 Maria He Became Archbishop of San Salvador After Romero s Death Eduardo Lopez Rojas as Bishop Cordova An Ally of Romero Tony Perez as Father Rafael Villez Secretary of The Bishops ConferenceProduction EditAn international co production between the United States and Mexico Romero is the first feature film from Paulist Pictures a company founded by the Paulist Fathers a Roman Catholic society of priests This was the first time a Catholic company produced a major film 7 The company was also 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 Alfonso Cuaron a Mexican film director worked as an assistant director for this film Composer Gabriel Yared who went on to win BAFTA Awards and an Oscar for his other scores composed the music for Romero The movie was filmed in Mexico and set in El Salvador Reception EditRomero 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 Edit 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 amp 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 External links EditRomero Archived 2006 04 22 at the Wayback Machine at the Arts amp Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list Romero Movie Guide from the Foundation for Self Sufficiency in Central America a non profit group Interview with Raul Julia about the film Romero at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Romero film amp oldid 1120749220, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
