Hot Docs Review: ‘Sins of My Father’

Producer Nicolas Entel focuses on the life of Marroquin and his attempts to come to grips with the hideous karmic wreckage inflicted by his father.
Hot Docs Review: ‘Sins of My Father’
5/12/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/Sins_of_My_Father_2+.jpg" alt="Pablo Escobar and his son, Juan Pablo (now Sebastian Marroquin), in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s.(Courtesy of hotdocs.ca)" title="Pablo Escobar and his son, Juan Pablo (now Sebastian Marroquin), in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s.(Courtesy of hotdocs.ca)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1819959"/></a>
Pablo Escobar and his son, Juan Pablo (now Sebastian Marroquin), in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s.(Courtesy of hotdocs.ca)

TORONTO—“Sins of My Father” reveals the struggle of Sebastian Marroquin, the son of infamous Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Marroquin, who now lives in Argentina under a new identity, fled Colombia after his father was gunned down by authorities in 1993.

Producer Nicolas Entel focuses on the life of Marroquin and his attempts to come to grips with the hideous karmic wreckage inflicted by his father. In the end it tells the story of a person persecuted for the sins of his father and the desire for reconciliation in a world where the need for revenge is an everyday occurrence.

The story begins by recounting the early life of Escobar’s family and the construction of his drug empire. It chronicles his corrupt influence on society and his entrance into politics. He is accepted into congress as a full member of the Liberal Party with a chance of becoming future president, furthering his ideal of making Colombia a drug paradise and a narco-state.

The discovery of the true source of his immense fortune and the presence of a well educated, honest, and incorruptible political party leader destroyed Escobar’s intentions for a political future.

Once the truth about his dealings was uncovered, Escobar initiated a bloody war against the political class who expelled him from the Liberal Party.

Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara, who denounced Escobar in public, was killed by Escobar’s forces, inciting a war that would lead to the assassination of Luis Carlos Galan, a possible presidential candidate who campaigned to fight the drug dealers .

Escobar became the most wanted drug dealer in the world and his family suffered the consequences of his lifestyle.

After his death at the hands of Colombian police, his son his family continued to suffer the aftershocks of Escobar’s reign. After changing his name and moving to Argentina, Marroquin decided to tell his family’s story.

The documentary shows his intention for reconciliation with a society that always viewed him as the possible new boss in the drug dealer’s mafia.

In one remarkable scene of forgiveness, Marroquin meets with the sons of Rodrigo Lara and Luis Carlos, two politicians brutally murdered by Escobar’s mafia.

The film is an amazing collection of pictures, video, and personal narrative chronicling the unknown private life of Escobar and his family. The film has a theme of reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness that is not only a tribute to healing but a cautionary tale about the results of greed and cruelty.