INDIE REELS: Romeo

Romeo

Director: John Duigan

Writer (WGA):John Sacret Young (written by)

Release Date:25 August 1989 (USA) more

Cast: Raul Julia, Richard Jordan, Ana Alicia

Runtime:102 min

By Paige Lauren Deiner
paige_deiner@themonitor.com 

Few films have inspired and touched me as much as Romero.

I first saw the film that chronicles the life of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero when I was in college. At the time I was heavily influenced by liberation theology - a branch of Catholicism that sees Jesus Christ as not only the Savior but also the liberator of the oppressed. The framework stresses that the Christian mission is to bring justice to the poor and oppressed, particularly through political activism. The theory became popular in the 70s and 80s in Central America and often, like in the case of El Salvador, pitted the oligarchy and military against the poor and landless.

Romero chronicles the life of Archbishop Romero, who began his life as a conservative, orthodox, apolitical bishop to the highest religious office in the country. Romero was chosen because he was a safe bet, unlikely to rock the ship and enter the world of politics. But within a few months in his position, Romero found himself unable to ignore the plight of the poor and the excesses of the military.

The film chronicles Romero's slow transformation from starch supporter of the oligarchy to a quiet questioner of the military to advocate of the voiceless. Romero lost his life defending the poor - he was shot through the heart while delivering a homily on March 24, 1980.

But during his three-year reign as Archbishop Romero brought courage to the poor of El Salvador. His spirit calmed and comforted, while it wasn't always able to protect. Jesuit priests, who practiced Liberation Theology, countless students, activists and poor were tortured, disappeared and murdered during that period.

In the movie, Romero travels with members of the church who are trying to vote. When the military shoots out the tires on the bus, he stands with his flock and walks. Romero visits the prison to see a badly beaten and tortured priest, only to hear the screams of others as the military tries to force information and confessions out of them- and that becomes his turning point.

He becomes critical of the military and decries their actions. In one famous speech, that appears in the film he says:

"I would like to make a special appeal to the men of the army, and specifically to the ranks of the National Guard, the police and the military. Brothers, you come from our own people. You are killing your own brother peasants when any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God which says, "Thou shalt not kill." No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you recovered your consciences and obeyed your consciences rather than a sinful order. The church, the defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of human dignity, of the person, cannot remain silent before such an abomination. We want the government to face the fact that reforms are valueless if they are to be carried out at the cost of so much blood. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.

Romero is not an easy film to watch - because it's true. The violence one sees actually happened - to mom, to college student, to a priest. But the movie shows how powerfully people believed in their cause and the lengths they went through to make them reality. While this film still is difficult for me to watch, every time I see it I am reminded of something John F. Kennedy said in a speech in 1966.

"Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change."

Paige Lauren Deiner covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4425. You can reach her at (956) 683-4425.