When it was released, The Crime of Padre Amaro caused a controversy on the part of Roman Catholic groups in Mexico who tried to stop the film from being screened.

They failed, and the film became the biggest box office draw ever in the country, beating previous record holder, Sexo, pudor y lágrimas (1999), with a gross of $16.3 million.

Recently ordained a priest, 24-year-old Father Amaro (Gael García Bernal) arrives in Los Reyes, a small town in the fictional state of Aldama, to start his life serving the church.

Amélia (Ana Claudia Talancón), a local 16-year-old girl, teaches catechism to the young children in the town, and is the daughter of Benito's mistress.

Amaro soon becomes infatuated with Amélia, who is strongly attracted to him and asks awkward questions about love and sin in the confessional, admitting that she masturbates to Jesus.

The newspaper is tipped off about Benito baptising the drug lord's newborn child, and Rubén is asked to write about the scandals in his hometown.

With the aid of mountains of evidence compiled by his father, he publishes a story about Benito's hospital being a front for money laundering.

The Crime of Padre Amaro sparked a controversy in Mexico at the time of its release, with Catholic bishops and organizations asking people not to see it and demanding that the government ban it.

The critics consensus on the website states that "Though melodramatic, El Crimen del Padre Amaro's critique of the Catholic church is a timely one.