Oscar Romero was at first a quiet, ordinary priest in the democratic country of El Salvador. But things change once newly appointed Arch-Bishop. Romero quickly finds out the way the country is run by the military. The poor people of Salvador are missing and being executed by the military.
Romero tries to stop these events through the power of the Church. Raul Julia plays Oscar Romero the soft spoken priest turned Arch-Bishop. His character goes through a metamorphoses from beginning to end that eventually gets him killed. The one moment in time that really changes the way he acts is the death of Father Grande. Fr. Grande was a preacher to the poor or anyone who wanted to listen to the Word of the Lord.
By the killing and torturing of people Romero gets very angry and says STOP! In one scene while in prison listening to a priest get tortured, he doesn’t understand why one human being would do this to another. We are all human and why should their life be taken away if they have done nothing. The Church in this movie are people very strong in their faith and stand up for what they believe in. For example, When the people of one city walk right into a church that has been taken over by the military. This shows their willingness to die for God.
Other acts show the people of El Salvador courage and deep faith. I thought that this was a very good movie. The strong imagery and sadness that these events really occur in El Salvador and other countries like it. The words of Romero were inspiring, the way he presented himself after every bad act by the military he just turned the other cheek. The pictures were probably the most disturbing thing in the movie. People with half of their face gone, limbs in all different positions, just hit me like Wow! How could a person do this and then live with themselves.
The strength of Oscar Romero gave me chills down my spine. His acts of generosity, kindness, bravery and sacrifice he truly did live the way God wanted him.