Very valuable movie

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 2006)

This movie works wonderfully on several levels. One, it could be said to be based loosely on the life of Bartolome de Las Casas, the contemporary of Columbus who originally went to the New World to take advantage of it, but became convicted in 1511 of the "sin" of the Spaniard's treatment of the indigenous populations and became the natives' greatest advocate, traveling back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean, pleading on their behalf before all who would listen, including the Pope. De Las Casas is considered to be one of the first anti-imperialists.
Second, it could be said to be a powerful statement of liberation theology, which began to emerge in the 1950s, coming to full flower by the late 1960s. Produced in 1986, the philosophical struggle between arming oneself against oppression (De Niro) or "turning the other cheek" to that oppression (Irons) is portrayed in this movie as a non-choice: one must fight against the oppressor, even though The Church forbids it. This is the message of the liberation theology movement, which began with priests working in the barrio who saw their bishops and archbishops increasingly in bed politically and economically with the corrupt dictators who ruled their countries. These priests were faced with the dilemma of either fighting on behalf of their people, or obeying their superiors. Liberation theologists chose to fight on behalf of their people, much like the De Niro character.
The fact that Father Daniel Berrigan plays a minor part in the picture is a nice touch. The Berrigan brothers, Daniel and Phillip, both Jesuit priests, took a courageous stand against the war in Vietnam, and paid for this stand with years in jail. They were part of the Catonsville Nine, which destroyed draft board records by, I believe, pouring blood on them. At one point, believe it or not, both priests were on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list. Phillip died some years ago. Daniel is still alive.