HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

School of Business and Accountancy
#Holy Angel Avenue, Sto. Rosario, Angeles City
Management Department

Film Analysis: “Romero”

Submitted by:

Ramos, Prince Harold

Sagun, Eryne Mae

A-234

Submitted to:

Mr. Philip Lucas

August 04,2022

1
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

Romero is a film released in 1989 depicting the story of the El Salvadoran archbishop,
Oscar Romero. Similar to the Filipino spiritual experience during Martial Law regime, he
initiated a peaceful protest against political violence that eventually cost his own life.

After watching the film, construct your individual reflection by answering the following:

GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. What is your personal understanding of what it means to be a saint? How should a saint
manifest one’s holiness?
Being a saint is a being a blessed, happy and blissful. All human aspirations are satisfied
by sanctity, which is a gift from God. It is the goal of the Christian life, which includes
connection with Christ, learning to live as God's children with the help of the Holy Spirit,
and reaching the perfection of love."Holiness, the fullness of the Christian life, rests in
relationship with Christ, in following his example, in living his mysteries, his actions and
thoughts. The degree to which we model our entire life after Christ, with the power of
the Holy Spirit, is how holiness is determined.

2. What is it about the story and setting of the film that you found most disturbing or
disgusting the most
To be completely honest the most disturbing part for in this movie is when the group
of military went to church and tried to take people away from them family and demolish
the house of god. The exact time of this scene is (1:00:16). The government remains to
be oppressive and abusive towards the citizens of El Salvador, in turn, the victims of
oppression have turned to the church for help against the continuous abuse of the
government. I find this very disturbing since I was born to live in the time of peace and
prosperity. I could not speak in behalf of those people since I have not suffered as they
had, first-hand.

3. How did the main character portray saintly disposition and holiness in the film? And how
is his manifestation of holiness and being a saint different from yours?
The film “Romero” is about the life of Oscar Romero, an archbishop of El Salvador which
exemplifies the adversities and the sacrifices that he has done in order to help and serve
the underprivileged people of El Salvador. The story unfolds as the church begins to see
the discrimination and the unfair treatment of the government to its people. The poor
people of El Salvador get treated badly and are deprived of their rights as a person
belonging to that country.Romero is a prophet of love, virtue, faith, patience, and healing

2
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

in my opinion. He changed his understanding of how the holiness should be lived via
prayer and humility listening to the poor, and as a result, he became an outspoken and
active presence.

4. In the Philippines’ setting, can you identify a time or situation where a similar experience
and character happened in the past or in the present?
One of the events that have transpired in the movie that stuck me the most was how
some important powerful figure in the church are willing to close their senses as to what
is going on around them. They close to remain ignorant and numb to the cries and the
pleas of the people so that the government would protect them at all cost. Another one is
when the people are still faithful to their church even though they know that the
government is against them. Through this, their faith in God is tested. The church began
to help the people get their freedom back. Just like what happened with Dr. Jose
Rizal. On December 30, 1896, the Spanish colonial authority killed Dr. José Rizal by firing
squad for the crime of rebellion. Following the start of the Philippine Revolution, which
was sparked by his writings, he was put to death by the Spanish colonial authorities for
the crime of insurrection. Although he did not actively participate in its organization or
execution, he ultimately supported its objectives, which led to the independence of the
Philippines. Although, we have not really experienced the brutalities first-hand, it is still
so distressing to witness that the once peaceful and prosperous nation became the
monster we once hated.

3
 HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY

Documentation: