Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Tayloriona
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
dougdoepke
Though a worthy effort, Romero doesn't reach the intense feel of a Missing or Salvador. There's a pervasive sense of horror and fear in these latter largely missing from Romero despite laudable efforts at conveying the same rawness of police state terror. Perhaps the staging is a little too tidy or the death squads too ordinary to reach the same level of abject dread. Nonetheless there is much to praise in Romero. Raul Julia's transformation from meek upper- class toady to passionate spokesman for the masses is eloquently understated, and no less powerful. I especially like the way the filmmakers portrayed elements of the elite, humanising them and giving them a chance to speak, even as their death squad hirelings carry out the bloody dirty work. Perhaps the movie's high point is Romero's pivotal refusal to continue baptism privileges for the well-bred, thus affirming his new spiritual loyalty, but also sealing his earthly doom. It's a quietly powerful and revealing moment.I wish the producers had showed more candor in implicating the US's role in the repression. Except for Romero's plea to stop arming the military and the presence of a thuggish American adviser (he looks North American but is not identified), there is no mention of repression's ultimate sponsor. Yet the US was waist deep in these events, as Reagan's boys in the basement undercut every Congressional effort to moderate support. Principled films such as Romero need to be fearlessly historical in putting such facts before the American public, pleasant or not. Even so, Romero is a moving portrayal of one man's evolution from spiritual cypher to heroic symbol, and poses a challenge to conscionable people everywhere.
mikemangarelli
This film shows clearly how the great archbishop learned of the atrocities of his government and how he eventually came to side against them. Romero was not a Marxist or a member of the FMLN, he was a liberation theologist, which contained elements of Marxism but ultimately is not Marxism.One user here wrote a comment that the film was a propaganda piece, completely ignoring communist atrocities. With the exception of FARC and shining path, the US's beloved right-wing dictatorships were responsible for the overwhelming majority of murders. 70,000 were killed in El Salvador, across the border in Guatemala 200,000 were killed. These are only two examples of many other in Latin America. If you want to understand the beginnings of what would become genocide in El Salvador in the 80s, or even just to see the commitment of a great man to the poor and actually carry out what Jesus asked then see this movie.PS - Romero will not be canonized, the current Pope waged a virtual war against liberation theologists, almost eradicating them from the church. What would you expect from a Nazi youth?
michellesart
Although not a very well made movie (the writing and editing are especially weak) the late Raul Julia's performance is stunning, as are the performances of many of his supporting cast. The journey his character (and presumably the actual archbishop Romero) makes from innocence to awareness is deeply moving and very convincing. His story is remarkable and well worth forgiving the director and editor for not realizing it's full potential. The impact is in Julia's performance and you'll be with him from the moment he fills the screen. Probably one of Raul Julia's most remarkable performances. Another performance worth note is that of the late Richard Jordan who, as Father Grande, helps lead the archbishop to an awareness of the suffering of his people.
Coxer99
An absorbing film that tackles violence in the harshest terms and is led by an angelic performance by the great Raul Julia. Like "Schindler's List," Romero sacrifices everything for peace and survival. He's willing to stand with his people and take brutality as they do. A remarkable film!
