A disturbing coming-of-age drama from Mexican filmmaker Luis Urquiza, Perfect Obedience follows Julián (Sebastián Aguirre Boëda), a naïve thirteen-year-old boy who travels from the arms of his loving family into the austere and secretly sinister halls of a local seminary.
Father Ángel (Juan Manuel Bernal), the institution’s leader, sees something special in young Julián. The priest singles him out as his own personal disciple, installing him in his palatial private quarters and even giving him a new name. He also teaches him about the concept of ‘perfect obedience,’ the cardinal rule of which is to never question a superior’s authority.
Over the course of one year, the two become unnaturally close, surrendering to the most intense, blissful and contradictory episode of their lives.
Years later, now older and wiser, Julián (played as an adult by Alfonso Herrera) begins to regret their relationship. After leaving the order, he decides to seek justice from his once all-too-powerful religious tutor.
Based on the shocking true story of Marcial Maciel, the “Legion of Christ” founder who was revealed to have a long history of carefully covered-up child abuse, this hard-hitting, award-winning film proves an intense and unforgettable drama, both chilling and heartbreaking in equal measure.
Watch the trailer for Perfect Obedience below. The film is now streaming on Dekkoo.
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