The Holy Office (El santo oficio) 50 years old
The long arm of the Inquisition, or the "Holy Office," reached at least as far as 16th-century Mexico (known as New Spain at the time). Many Spanish Catholics of Moorish or Jewish origin found it expedient to flee to the New World to escape the suffocating attentions of the Inquisition. In Spain, simply being descended from these suspect peoples is sufficient to guarantee a gruesome death by immolation. In the New World, it took slightly more. This 1974 Mexican film deals with the suffering of one family of conversos who are secretly practicing Judaism and are betrayed to the Inquisition by a family member. Interestingly, a small family clan of such secret Jews was discovered in New Mexico as recently as the late 1980s. They managed to keep their faith a secret for nearly five hundred years.
Credits
The Holy Office Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Martin LaSalle He was 39, now 89 years old | as Díaz Márquez |
| Peter Gonzales Falcon | as Fray Gaspar |
| Arturo Beristain He was 24, now 75 years old | as Baltasar |
| Jorge Luke He was 32, 70 years old when he died | as Luis de Carvajal |
| Antonio Bravo He was 68, 86 years old when he died | as Rabino Morales |
| Claudio Brook He was 46, 67 years old when he died | as Fray Alonso de Peralta |
| Farnesio de Bernal | as Fray Hernando |
| Florencio Castelló He was 69, 81 years old when he died | as Fray Lorenzo de Albornoz |
| Diana Bracho She was 29, now 79 years old | as Mariana de Carvajal |
| Jorge Fegán | as Padre Oroz |
| Rafael Banquells He was 56, 73 years old when he died | as Principal de la Real Audiencia |
The Holy Office Crew
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| Arturo Ripstein as Director. He was 30 (now 80) years old | Directing |
| Arturo Ripstein as Writer. He was 30 (now 80) years old | Writing |
| Jorge Stahl, Jr. as Director of Photography. He was 53 (82) years old when He died | Camera |
| José Emilio Pacheco as Writer. He was 34 (74) years old when He died | Writing |
The Holy Office (50 years)
- Release day: Thursday, June 06, 1974
- Runtime: 127 minutes