Retablo (2017)★ 7.9/10

The score and the handcrafted retablos bring beauty to the film, while the boy’s emotional struggle is rendered with poignant care. The ending is heartbreaking, and it stayed with me for days. Yet in following his father’s artistic path, the son manages to honor him. It’s tragic how much he’s forced to carry at such a young age.

At its heart, "Retablo" is about the pain caused by a society that refuses to accept difference. My first instinct was to blame that society—why can’t people live freely? But after sitting with it, I realized the father doesn’t deserve that sympathy, not because of his identity, but because of his actions. He fails his wife and his son by choosing to live in disguise and inflicting harm in the process. I support diversity and empathize with his fear, but that doesn’t excuse the damage he caused.

Actuaciones sobresalientes, una fotografía maravillosa y un comentario social con mucha fuerza hacen de Ratablo una pieza valiosa para el cine peruano.