Liborio

The directorial debut of editor Nino Martínez, a collaborator of Jaime Rosales, is an incursion into the world of magic and spirituality. A visually beautiful film, transcendent in its narrative. We see the story/legend of Liborio from different points of view, the views of the community. It is a story in which the limits are not clear: life and death, reality and fantasy, truth and lies... Liborio's path is like sugar in water: you can't see it, but you can savor.

This movie gives us a glimpse into the life of a countryman, spiritual healer and leader of a community in the early 1900's. The director delivers a 3rd person view while giving us the ability to feel the rough country life from that time. However, the story has a rather cold start with no character background which may also seem like there's room for a sequel. This movie portrays a very real view of life in the Dominican Republic in the beginning of the 1900's.

Being very aware of the historical and cultural sources from which this film is based, I attest that the final result of Nino Martinez's debut is a mesmerizing portrayal of Papa Liborio, a real historical figure with mystical dimensions. The cinematography is superb with effective natural light experimentation, the acting is very well blended with the storytelling and the story itself is full of significant nuances. Considering the deficient and low quality filming of most movies from the Dominican Republic, this one is a bright light of hope for Caribbean cinema of more depth and sensitive exploration.