Monseñor: The Last Journey of Óscar Romero

Óscar Romero was the Nobel Peace Prize–winning Archbishop of El Salvador who was assassinated in 1980 after championing the interests of the country's impoverished masses against its entrenched, corrupt, and brutal power structure. This documentary by Ana Carrigan and Juliet Weber does a superb job of depicting the years of his episcopacy, set against the backdrop of an anti-activist campaign by government-backed right-wing death squads that “disappeared” thousands of civilians and eventually began killing priests who aligned themselves with the suffering masses. Romero, a modest figure who fit no one's image of a firebrand, courageously took up the call for justice and resistance to oppression in homilies at his masses that became rallying cries for the opposition. After a military coup brought no significant change, Romero redoubled his criticisms, leading to his assassination—a crime that went unpunished. Carrigan and Weber meld sober narration, archival footage, powerful interviews, and even audio clips from Romero's own tape-recorded diary to construct a deeply affecting portrait of a remarkable man. There may be a touch of hagiography to Monseñor, but that seems almost inevitable in telling the story of a churchman who consciously put his life on the line to fight for his flock. DVD extras include text bios of the directors and a PDF study guide. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)