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Lion's Den

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Synopsis

After Julia is sent to the penitentiary for the murder of her lover, she gives birth to a son. Bringing up a child in prison is difficult, but Julia understands that the only thing that matters to her is this new being that accompanies her now, that there is no life for her beyond that of her child. Her fellow inmate Marta becomes her ally; her mother Sofía, her opponent. One attempts to teach her how to be a mother to her child in the least appropriate place; the other wishes to take over rearing the child, so that he should grow up outside prison, in freedom. The duel between Julia and her mother expresses the dilemma of what is better for the child, to be brought up next to his mother in prison, or without her, but in freedom.

3 Reasons To buy this film

Official selection at Cannes.
An excellent, thoughtful film for mothers.
Highly recommended by The New York Post.

Review

Julia wakes up covered in blood and there's a lot more where that came from... and a body. Julia doesn't quite know what happened, but her boyfriend is dead and his bisexual lover is barely alive. She is a few months pregnant (by her now-dead boyfriend) and as the prime suspect in the murder, she's sent to a maternity unit of a women's prison.

Lion's Den makes you think. The film points to the question of whether a woman should be able to raise her child, even though she is incarcerated. While Tomas gets schooling, food, clothes and shelter, he's just as imprisoned as his mother. The jail life (as it's depicted in this narrative film – no telling on the actual status of maternity women's prisons in real-life Argentina) doesn't seem so bad. The women, with the exception of going outside, are permitted to move freely through the wing. They visit with each other, share photos, play with each other's children, and decorate their jail cells. Julia forges a very close, borderline sexual, relationship with her cell neighbor Marta. While there are hints of lesbian sexuality, I believe the relationship is more about a fierce camaraderie that the women share. In the jail, although occasional cat fight breaks out, Julia is raising Tomas in a community that is stronger and has more love than she'd ever find on the outside. The only thing Tomas seems to be lacking is playing outside, which completely unnerves Julia's mother. Julia's mother, whom has been out of the picture for years, comes back to "save" Tomas, which completely unnerves Julia.

The film, which maybe should've been a documentary, is more a narrative examination of a way of life than anything else. At times it's very poignant and wrenching to watch the women's emotions be curtailed by prison regiment. But also the question arises – they did kill someone, so how much freedom are they entitled? What is real punishment? Who deserves it? It's a well-acted drama with loads of questions and conflicts that will leave you pensive!

-- Raeann Drew