Retablo
A gifted Quechua-speaking teenager confronts the collapse of his family ideal after discovering a devastating secret about his father.
Overview
A young boy's journey to understand his father's secret leads to a profound awakening.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- intimate
- oppressive
- quiet afternoon
- world cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, visually striking, and culturally specific coming-of-age drama anchored by its performances and emotional restraint.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Segundo accidentally witnesses his father in a situation that overturns his understanding of his family.
Segundo's aspiration to become a master retablo maker makes the story-box tradition central to the film's imagery and inheritance plot.
Segundo is trapped between loyalty to his father and a chauvinistic Andean environment that leaves little room for open expression.
The film connects LGBTQ identity with Quechua-speaking Andean community life and family legacy.
Films like Retablo, and why
The Way He Looks
shared coming-of-age drama, rural community pressures, and intimate family conflict
God's Own Country
shared queer identity, cultural conservatism, and emotionally restrained family drama
Tomboy
shared adolescent perspective, patriarchal social structures, and lyrical rural realism
A Fantastic Woman
shared father son tension, queer secrecy, and socially grounded Latin American drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Alvaro Delgado Aparicio
- Release Date
- 2018-12-19
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (64)
Cast
- Amiel Cayo
- Júnior Béjar
- Magaly Solier
- Mauro Chuchon
- Ubaldo Huamán
- Hermelinda Luján
- Ricardo Bromley López
- Claudia Solís
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Retablo about?
- A gifted Quechua-speaking teenager confronts the collapse of his family ideal after discovering a devastating secret about his father.
- What is Retablo like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Retablo as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Retablo violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Retablo as mild.
- What did critics think of Retablo?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, visually striking, and culturally specific coming-of-age drama anchored by its performances and emotional restraint.
- Which films are like Retablo?
- Films with a similar feel include The Way He Looks, God's Own Country, Tomboy, and A Fantastic Woman.
- How long is Retablo?
- Retablo runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch Retablo?
- In United States, Retablo streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
