Lion's Den (Saturday, July 4, 2009) (85)

This is a movie about a woman in Argentina who is put in jail for murdering her boyfriend. When she is sent in she is pregnant and she is put in a cell block for mothers and expecting mothers. Her prison experience is far from normal and much more like a nursary school with bars on the windows, as there are screaming kids (up to age 4) and toys strewed around everywhere. The woman, Julia, gives birth and begins raising her son in the prison with the help of her prison wife with whom she has a brief sexual affair.

I'm trying to separate the film from the amazing situation in Argentina where little children are kept in jail while their mothers serve their sentences. Lots of the shocking and amazing moments are as much about the reality on the ground in this prison system as they are about the film itself.

But there are some very interesting touches here from director Pablo Trapero, such as extra long shots and a very good use of moving cameras - especially tracking and dolly shots. One great shot, used in the trailer, is a tracking shot that shows the women in the block standing at the doors of their cells shown from their necks down - showing mostly their pregnant or fat bellies - as the roll-call is being read. In the last shot of the film, there is a five-minute-or-so take that goes from one side of a river, then onto a ferry to the other side of the water, and then back... it's very interesting and effectively conveys time and space relevant to that point of the story.

The acting is very good here to - especially the lead, Martina Gusman. Much of her character is rather intuitive to us, as we see a woman in a tough spot responding in a rather understandable fashion. Still, she brings more depth to the role and makes us understand that she is a smart and likeable woman.

Stars: 3 of 4