Perfect Obedience

By: Amos Lassen

"Perfect Obedience" ("Obediencia perfecta")

The Mentor

Amos Lassen

Julian is a 13-year-old seminarian who is put on a hard spiritual journey to reach Perfect Obedience. The order's founding father is captivated by his fragility and innocence and takes him to live with him in his private home for a year. During that time Julian will enter the most intense and contradictory phase of his life while his mentor guides him to complete psychological and physical surrender
Mexican director Luis Urquiza explores various and horrid ways to lose one's innocence including sacrificing the ability to make one's own decisions and the betrayal of trust. The film is based on real events. The focus is on Julian (Sebastian Aguirre) who attains attendance at a seminary to prepare him for the priesthood. When we first see him he conveys a sense of idealism?the joy of childhood, surrounded by people who care and love him. This depiction of innocence and happiness is achieved through the use of lighting, attention to details and choice of locations. Immersed in this heavenly atmosphere, the viewer is being prepared for the protagonist's inevitable loss of his ideal world as he enters one that is not to perfect.
Julian joins the seminary and faces challenges that children facing a change in their lives feel- a new school and new acquaintances. Boys who study for the priesthood have the same wishes and desires as any other kid and because of this they get into trouble many names. The priests who are on the faculty of the seminary appear ready to offer spiritual help and guidance and they teach religion with passion. They encourage the young boys to be courageous and express themselves freely. However, it becomes clear that the ultimate goal of some is to attain the perfect obedience of their pupils. We do, however, get a hint of what is to come by reading the poster with the quote from Matthew, "Beware of the false teachers?men who come to you in sheep's fleeces, but beneath that disguise they are ravenous wolves". There are some of the usual clichés that we usually hear about when the subject of the church regarding these matters is discussed. The film however does not make moral judgments-it leaves that to us. There is nothing graphic seen in the movie, it is all implied. The ending is the way it is to make us feel disturbed and perhaps we might act to make things change.

The film is beautifully filmed and the soundtrack is perfect. The film deals with these issues with grace and delicacy. We see the "dark side" of the church and know that this issue is far from over.