One of my all time favorites.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The Martyr of Calvary is a refreshing contrast to many Hollywood versions of the life of Christ. It is faithful to the gospels and doesn't wimp out on depicting Jesus' miracles or his resurrection. The pacing and acting are good. Even though I don't speak much Spanish, I could follow the story, pick out which disciple was which, and figure out what was being said on screen. Enrique Rambal makes a decent Jesus, although his Fifties flat top hairstyle can be a bit distracting at first. I picked up this one at my local library not knowing what to expect, especially from a foreign language film, and was pleasantly surprised.