O Crime Do Padre Amaro - Film and TV Adaptations

Film and TV Adaptations

In 2002, Carlos Carrera directed a Spanish-language version of O Crime do Padre Amaro (El crimen del padre Amaro) in Mexico. It starred Gael García Bernal as Father Amaro and was greeted with public outrage in Mexico, where Christian groups called for it to be banned. In 2002, it was one of the Best Foreign Language Film Nominees at the 75th Academy Awards. The film was criticized in Portugal as insufficiently faithful to the novel. It was said that Mexico in 2002 has little or nothing to do with the 19th century context in the novel; in addition, Amaro's motivation is different. In the novel his education steers him into the priesthood, whereas in the film he chooses to follow this path himself and has some anticlerical views. Finally, Eça's Amélia is older (aged 23) than her film equivalent, although the actress who played the part (Ana Claudia Talancón) turned 22 in the year the film was released.

In 2005, Carlos Coelho da Silva directed a movie O Crime do Padre Amaro in Portugal. This was a production sponsored by SIC television channel. Padre Amaro (Jorge Corrula) and Amélia (Soraia Chaves) are the main characters, and sex and nudity are main ingredients. According to the IMDB, it is (as of January 2006) the most successful Portuguese movie in Portuguese box office history.