Mon père

Retablo" directed by Alvaro Delgado Aparicio and starring: Magaly Solier, Junior Béjar Roca and Amiel Cayo, set in Peru's Andes region. It's in Quechua & Spanish w/ English subtitles, released in 2018 with a duration of 1 hr. and 41 min. It has many themes from being indigenous, family, homophobia and tradition focusing on a teen, Segunfo wanting to become a master story-box or "retablo" maker (a traditional Peruvian cultural tradition) just like his dad, Noe.

This film has also received much recognition in 2018 in creating an unique LGBTQIA+ perspective on Andean regional culture amongst indigenous or nativo cultures. The film is beautifully shot amid mountainous landscapes, with unfortunately the domestic violence that LGTBQIA+ sometime faces. It also reinstate their cultural traditions still preserved and celebrated, using the actual artistic tradition to do some of the film's storytelling.

Retablo creatively portrays the Andean life values and drama. The plot is crafted around the life of an Altarpiece Artisan young boy and his family and their relationship with the nearby rural communities. It mastefully representing what does it mean to live more than 10,000 feet above sea level in the rural and extremely poor Andes of Peru. It is a superbly crafted powerful story. With 18 awards around the world it is a true contender for the Academy Foreign picture Oscar.

In the Peruvian Andean foothills settlements with close knit societies where the Church has some clout, any individual wilful act that contravenes folk taboos can have serious consequences. Mobbing seems to be the Law. Tragedy. This movie purpose is to show some awful consequences and leave the viewer pondering on the subject

It's a simple plot, but it's solid, and it turns out to be quite dramatic and even moving.

The only positive this film had was the beautiful natural landscape which made for gorgeous and breathtaking cinematography. Other than that, it moves at the pace of molasses trying to flow uphill, with minimal dialog that is very banal. The story is told in a disjointed manner and relies mainly on people constantly staring into space. The message of how a culture, which has not embraced modern ideals, responds to homosexuality, does get across but there are better films that deal with this issue.