Conspiracy of Silence DVD

Review By: Alexis Tuminello
AlexisTuminello@TheCinemaSource.com

Homosexuality, the AIDS epidemic, and the Catholic church - What could be juicier in a political statement kind of way? You tell me. Its catch line is even great: 'Sex. Lies. Murder... All In The Name Of God...'. Now tell me if you aren't even the least bit curious. You can't.

Conspiracy of Silence is an intricate triangle of an ex-seminary student, progressive priests, and a ravenous reporter all battling the Catholic superpower both individually and together. The scene sets with a homosexual priest’s suicide. Rather dark but it starts the catalyst to a great foreign film.

The next 90 minutes paints the controversy surround the Catholic church and its antiquated views on celibacy, more specifically here homosexuality and the rapidly growing rate of priests contracting AIDS. We all know it's not from shooting up. A bright seminary student (Jonathan Forbes) at the top of his class gets kicked out of seminary simple due to one supposition that he was doing something "wrong" with another student. He feels his rights have been violated and he was expelled unfairly, he did nothing and it determined to reassume as a future representative of God. A priest and teacher (played by the always impressive Hugh Bonneville) at the school is on his side, and determined to propel the Catholic church to come out of it's own closet, enlists the help of a journalist (Jason Barry) who is chomping at the bit for this break. Of course he only leaks it to the paper; no one can actually prove he was the one to break the silence. The reporter supports both of them, mostly for his own career but still, and tracks down an ex-priest and the ex-lover (John Lynch) of the suicide victim who is all to eager to talk. The antiquated Catholic church gets put on public trial but would rather blackmail, threaten, and cajole rather than address their faults.

I did learn from this film (and yes, it's true, I looked it up) how the priest’s vow of celibacy came about. Once upon a time the church was going bankrupt because their "servants" were bequeathing their land and legacy's to their families instead of the church. No, no, no, that can't happen so they wrote in the rules that to serve God properly you must remain celibate from inauguration to death. Otherwise you won't be able to hear God's message. How fucked up is that?

Maybe I should mention her that I am not at all religious but Conspiracy of Silence still incited a real anger in me. It's a movie, I know, but the premise is a fact and it took a courageous voice (writer and director John Deery) to bring it to film. No surprise then that it was made abroad where religion is taken more ...