Perhaps the most telling review of “JDF16,” Univisión’s documentary on Miami Marlins superstar pitcher José Fernández from Cuban childhood to death in a drug-and-alcohol-influenced boating accident, came at the end of Wednesday night’s screening at Coconut Grove’s Cinepolis.
The closing credits brought not applause, not anger, but silence sliced by sniffles. As the last credit rolled, applause greeted the documentarians, Laura Prieto Uribe and David C. Adams, as they took chairs up front to answer questions. Suddenly, a blond, middle-aged woman in a black dress rose from her seat and walked to the front. A surprised Uribe handed Fernandez’s mother, Maritza Gomez, the microphone.