Romero - Film Review

The film "Romero" was a story of true inspiration. Oscar Romero was a "by the books" bishop. He was highly educated and did not ordinarily step out of his comfort zone. His good friend and fellow priest, Father Grande, was the complete opposite of Bishop Romero. Father Grande was a bit out of the ordinary. He preached to the poor, outside of the church. He was rebellious at times, but he always took a stand against inequality. As the times were changing and the rich continued to out power the poor, Bishop Romero also began to change. This film really captured the people of El Salvador in one of their most unpleasant times. It was thrilling and emotional at the same time. It was quite horrifying to see how the impoverished were being treated as if they were not "human-beings". On the contrary, it was inspirational to see Romero take a stand and risk his life when he went into the church to retrieve the Holy Eucharist.

Throughout the film, Romero made drastic changes to not only the way he thought, but the way he preached as well. In the beginning of the movie, he was friendly with the rich. It almost seemed as if he even favored them. I believe that the true turning point for Romero was when his good friend asked if he would baptize her daughter. Of course, Romero was delighted. However, she asked for a private baptism separate from the "barbarians". Romero had told her this was not possible due to the large number of baptisms. The old Romero would have caved into her requests even though it was unfair. But Romero, a changed man, stood against his friend to show her that all Salvadorians should be treated equally. He stopped preaching "by the books" and started to realize that El Salvador was falling to pieces. He also made some life threatening choices. He defied officers and was even arrested. All of his decisions were made in efforts of equality and peace among the people of El Salvador.

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