Though a worthy effort, Romero doesn't reach the intense feel of a Missing or Salvador. There's a pervasive sense of horror and fear in these latter largely missing from Romero despite laudable efforts at conveying the same rawness of police state terror. Perhaps the staging is a little too tidy or the death squads too ordinary to reach the same level of abject dread. Nonetheless there is much to praise in Romero. Raul Julia's transformation from meek upper- class toady to passionate spokesman for the masses is eloquently understated, and no less powerful. I especially like the way the filmmakers portrayed elements of the elite, humanising them and giving them a chance to speak, even as their death squad hirelings carry out the bloody dirty work. Perhaps the movie's high point is Romero's pivotal refusal to continue baptism privileges for the well-bred, thus affirming his new spiritual loyalty, but also sealing his earthly doom. It's a quietly powerful and revealing moment.
I wish the producers had showed more candor in implicating the US's role in the repression. Except for Romero's plea to stop arming the military and the presence of a thuggish American adviser (he looks North American but is not identified), there is no mention of repression's ultimate sponsor. Yet the US was waist deep in these events, as Reagan's boys in the basement undercut every Congressional effort to moderate support. Principled films such as Romero need to be fearlessly historical in putting such facts before the American public, pleasant or not. Even so, Romero is a moving portrayal of one man's evolution from spiritual cypher to heroic symbol, and poses a challenge to conscionable people everywhere.
I wish the producers had showed more candor in implicating the US's role in the repression. Except for Romero's plea to stop arming the military and the presence of a thuggish American adviser (he looks North American but is not identified), there is no mention of repression's ultimate sponsor. Yet the US was waist deep in these events, as Reagan's boys in the basement undercut every Congressional effort to moderate support. Principled films such as Romero need to be fearlessly historical in putting such facts before the American public, pleasant or not. Even so, Romero is a moving portrayal of one man's evolution from spiritual cypher to heroic symbol, and poses a challenge to conscionable people everywhere.