The Crime of Padre Amaro (, known by its literal translation The Crime of Father Amaro in Australia) is a 2002 Mexican-Spanish film directed by Carlos Carrera. It is very loosely based on the novel O Crime do Padre Amaro (1875) by 19th-century Portuguese writer José Maria de Eça de Queiroz. The film starred Gael García Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancón and Sancho Gracia. It premiered on 16 August 2002 in Mexico City. When it was released, The Crime of Padre Amaro caused a controversy on the part of Roman Catholic groups in Mexico who tried to stop the film from being screened. They failed, and the film became the biggest box office draw ever in the country, beating previous record holder, Sexo, pudor y lágrimas (1999), with a gross of $16.3 million. In the United States of America, this film also enjoyed commercial success; Columbia-TriStar Home Entertainment paid less than $1 million to acquire the film's North American distribution rights and released the film theatrically through Samuel Goldwyn Films; the film went on to gross $5.7 million in limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada. At the 75th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Plot Newly ordained Father Amaro (Gael García Bernal) arrives in Los Reyes, a small town in the fictional state of Aldama, to start his life serving the church. He is a protégé of a ruthless political bishop, while the local priest, Father Benito (Sancho Gracia), is having a long ongoing affair with a local restaurant owner. Benito is building a large hospital and recuperation center, which is partially funded by a cartel's drug lord. Meanwhile, another priest in the area, Father Natalio, is under investigation for supporting left-wing insurgents in his secluded rural church area. Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancón), a local 16-year-old girl, teaches catechism to the young children in the town, and is the daughter of Benito's mistress. At the start of the story, she is contemplating marriage to Rubén (Andrés Montiel), a young journalist beginning his career, but tension is depicted as Rubén is a non-believer and Amelia is strongly Catholic. Rubén's father is an avowed anti-clerical atheist who is unpopular within the town for his strong opinions. Amaro soon becomes infatuated with Amelia, who is strongly attracted to him and asks awkward questions about love and sin in the confessional, admitting that she masturbates