When I first heard “For Greater Glory” (originally titled “Cristiada,” which I prefer) was being shot, I was stunned — and skeptical. It never could be produced by Hollywood. In fact, it wouldn’t be a theatrical release, maybe a short documentary, certainly with a small budget. On the former, I was correct; it was made in Mexico. On the latter, I was wrong; it’s a full-fledged major motion picture with grade-A talent. And it’s wonderful.The cast includes Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O’Toole (in a cameo role as a murdered priest, the octogenarian is splendid), Ruben Blades and Mexican star Eduardo Verastegui. This is serious stuff.
The movie depicts the Mexican Cristero uprising against the military dictatorship of President Plutarco Calles between 1926 and 1929. Calles was an ardent anti-Catholic in a nation dominated by Catholics. At his command, Catholic churches were ordered shuttered, and Mass was outlawed. Many priests were murdered.
The most famous moment in the struggle, not depicted in the film, was the martyrdom of Padre Miguel Pro. Calles ordered a firing squad to shoot him in 1927, with the heart-wrenching final moments (Pro kneeling in prayer and then standing, his arms extended in the sign of the cross as bullets shattered him, and then shot point-blank when the fusillade didn’t kill him) photographed by order of the “presidente.” Padre Pro was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
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