Porfirio (2011)

Directed by: Alejandro Landes
Country: Colombia / others

Review: “Porfirio” shows the real life of Porfirio Ramirez, a 55 year-old Colombian man who was shot in the spine by a police officer, becoming paraplegic. The film centers in his day-to-day life, showing not only the constant physical struggle to accomplish the most basic tasks, but also the dependence from his son’s help, as well as some intimate moments with his girlfriend. Porfirio is trying to sue the state without success; he wasn’t even granted with any type of rehab, and his compensation never arrived. In order to call the attention for his case, he tried to hijack a plane with two grenades concealed in his diaper. This docudrama represents his last hope for justice, after having been sentenced with eight years of house arrest. Alejandro Landes adopted the same slow pace and rawness that characterize the style of Mexican Carlos Reygadas, although with diminished doses of abstraction. The images are colorful, the humor is subtle and the heat can almost be felt from outside the screen. Without any shame or complex, "Porfirio" says a lot about humanity and justice, at the same time that points a finger at the incompetent Colombian state.