El padrecito (1964)

KaiMiddleton's review called this film 'charming' and I don't think I could have chosen a more appropriate way to describe it. However, you really need to stick with this film, as it starts off very slow....so don't turn it off if you think the movie isn't particularly good.Before I get into the review, I should mention that although Cantinflas was a bit of a beloved national character in Mexico, I have never seen any of his films. So I really had no preconceptions about him. I only learned more about him after I finished seeing "Padrecito". I was surprised to learn, for instance, that when he died, the nation went into an unsurpassed period of mourning. Wow.The film finds an elderly priest being informed that a young priest (Cantinflas) will be coming to his parish to become his 'assistant'. However, to the elderly priest, this really means the young man is coming to take his job. Because of this, the elderly priest is somewhat cold towards Cantinflas. However, the priest's sister is downright hostile--as are most of the people of the town. To make it even harder for Cantinflas are his odd ways--very odd for a priest. He just doesn't act very priest-like. Some of his ways were simply eccentric--and the town found them easy to criticize. A few of the ways, however, are hard to defend--such as his gambling to get parishioners to do what he wants (and it sure seems like he's cheating!). It's all very mod and hip--especially with his calls for economic justice. But, it's also very endearing and sweet. I could say more but don't want to ruin the plot. Suffice to say that by the end, he's won over the town and fixed everything--like some sort of social worker or 'fix-it' man.Overall, the film is quite cute and clever and is apparently a slight reworking of the Hollywood film, "Going My Way". Certainly not a must-see, but a pleasant little film that was far better than I'd expected. It's clearly one of the best Mexican films I've seen--and shows that the country made far more than just Aztec Mummy and El Santo films!

Many people that had seen this movie, don't realize that Cantiflas was making a hard critic to the Catholic Church. In this movie he acts as a priest and has to solve many problems, like create a school for the town, and encounter some villain, and also plays dices with a store manager (glambling is forbid to priest), and in some part of the movie he reject naming a child "Napomuceno" that is the name of a Saint, but to him the name is so ugly that decide not to do it. You have to see the master peace, form the point of view that Mexico was at the time under control of Catolic church and parties and between laugh makes some specifics critics.

In this movie Mario Moreno portrays a new priest that has been sent to a town to begin gaining experience in ministry. When he arrives he does not receive such a great welcome because the towns people and the old priests' family think he was sent to take over the church. As usual Cantinflas has to overcome the greedy villains and stubborn people. The movie is filled with a lot of funny comments made by cantinflas. Although he is a priest he has a mind of his own and he tells people exactly what he is thinking. The DVD is excellent. Both the audio and picture are perfect. Subtitles are optional and there are even a few present day film trailers. You can rest assure that through out the movie you'll encounter the unique charm of Mario Moreno.

My 72 year old mother-in-law loves Cantinflas so we rented this movie among several others of his. I admit I wasn't looking forward to it but I found the clear way in which the main character did good somewhat refreshing after the edginess of modern films. Some might see "El Padricito" as formulaic but I enjoyed it much more than Denzel Washington's modernly formulaic "Out of Time" (I really didn't like that movie). Cantinflas' picture shows a character that must have been a bit avante-garde for his time and was innocent (or naive) in the basic humanity that everyone was able to achieve. Here is a plot summary: Diminutive Mexican film legend Cantinflas (a cross between Italian funnyman Roberto Benigni and silent film star Buster Keaton) stars as an unconventional priest who's assigned to a new position in a small town. The townspeople are skeptical of the new arrival, and the priest's own unconventional ways do little to boost his popularity.