"The Padre" was an engaging buddy film that brought together the improbable pairing of a man on the run from a U.S. Marshal, who disguises himself as a priest, and a young "orphan" who trying to leave Colombia to reunite with her sister in Minnesota. The faux priest needs to get out of town in a hurry, and the orphan named Lena is all to willing to be his accomplice.
This modest film was shot in a sepia glaze that works effectively for the hardscrabble existence being portrayed as the priest and the orphan take to the road and attempt to evade their pursuers. The crusty and embittered U.S. Marshal (Nick Nolte) and his unwilling local police deputy (Luis Guzmán) are the hapless losers tracking the clever runaways. But the film really belongs to Tim Roth's priest and Valeria Henríquez's Lena.
Early in the film, three essential social issues are raised by Lena, who felt betrayed by "the church, white men, money." But the film never delves deeply into how the church orphanage or those who placed her sister in a family in Minnesota led her to feel betrayed. It is not even revealed how or why the two sisters were separated. Instead, the mood is kept light with the banter between the wily priest and Lena.
While "The Padre" is not a great film, it was nonetheless a well-paced trifle that was held together by the carefully delineated characters.
This modest film was shot in a sepia glaze that works effectively for the hardscrabble existence being portrayed as the priest and the orphan take to the road and attempt to evade their pursuers. The crusty and embittered U.S. Marshal (Nick Nolte) and his unwilling local police deputy (Luis Guzmán) are the hapless losers tracking the clever runaways. But the film really belongs to Tim Roth's priest and Valeria Henríquez's Lena.
Early in the film, three essential social issues are raised by Lena, who felt betrayed by "the church, white men, money." But the film never delves deeply into how the church orphanage or those who placed her sister in a family in Minnesota led her to feel betrayed. It is not even revealed how or why the two sisters were separated. Instead, the mood is kept light with the banter between the wily priest and Lena.
While "The Padre" is not a great film, it was nonetheless a well-paced trifle that was held together by the carefully delineated characters.