In 1977, the military in El Salvador helps the conservatives win the crooked election. Oscar Arnulfo Romero (Raul Julia) and Father Grande (Richard Jordan) help the poor. Romero as Archbishop of San Salvador has to balance the factions inside the church. The National Guard massacres dozens of worshippers. Grande is killed by death squads. Romero tries to free Rafael Zelada from the guerrillas. Atrocities continue as he struggles to find a way.This is an important biopic of a compelling historical figure. Raul Julia is pulling back to play a calming presence in uncertain times. He does have some power acting moments. His performance is mostly one-note and that keeps tension from rising. Maybe an energized inner monologue could heighten the tension.

The 20'th century history of Central and South America can be compressed into the film "Romero". I'm not going to comment on why this part of the world has been so long plagued by such violence and repression; that's up to sociologists. Although things as they stand in 2007 are no where near as bad as they have been, there are still completely wild areas in the America's (parts of Columbia are in anarchy with rebel groups still fighting a very long war). Central America saw some of the most brutal and repressive civil wars and regimes. Guatamala and El Salvador saw exceptionally horrible levels of death and destruction. El Salvador, which this film depicts, was in the throes of yet another wave of civil disorder, pitting the large and very poor underclass against the small numbers of privileged upper class with predictable results. The army was used as a brutal and murderous machine, acting out the dark ideas of the right wing. The US aided the right wing because US foreign policy blindly labeled all rebellious groups in the America's as "Communist" insurgents and worked overtime to eliminate them. That's the backdrop to this film.The murder of Archbishop Romero was but the beginning of a ten year civil war that saw over 50,000 deaths in El Salvador. The film is hard on the nerves to watch as all depictions of depravity and death are. The actors have put their best into this important film. Two of them are sadly no longer with us: Richard Jordan and Raul Julia. Jordan shone in this film (and even more in one of my favorites - Gettysburg). Julia probably gives his most memorable performance. He is by turns shy, sedate, stirred, outraged, shocked and broken down. His depiction shadows that of the real Romero and one gets a sense that Julia had more than enough raw material to work with and that the script and storyline would support strong acting. In short, by the tragic end, we are emotionally drained and very upset, as we should be. If there is ever to be justice in this world, and it's a big "if", then we can start by demanding that perpetrators of violence are dealt with appropriately and not allowed sanctuary and support. Of course the chances of this happening while you live in a client state of the US is slim. A sad, wrenching depiction of both Romero's short career as Archbishop and of the black hole that overcame El Salvadore. As grim as they come but important to watch and take note of.

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?

Wow, I saw this only a year ago, and it still affects me. This is one of the films where it grabbed my attention and made me see reality in other countries. Central America is one scary place. Because of the film's impact on me, it has made me join Amnesty International. Great film, disturbing, but truly amazing..... 9/10