Locked Down

While making Locked Down, director Liat Mer spent two years observing life in Neve Tirza, the only woman's prison in Israel. Officials allow the ladies to smoke and wear makeup, but they can't use forks, although they are able to share their communal spaces with cats. When she isn't capturing the duties of the guards, Mer concentrates on three inmates. Shawn, who works in the kitchen, comes across as a leader with the tools necessary to succeed in the civilian world. While Shawn does what she can to achieve an early release, Mariman—serving time for solicitation—makes money to pay off her debts by chatting with a male prisoner who hopes to establish a relationship when they get out (Mariman has no intention of following through). Maria, a pretty blonde of Ukrainian descent, lost her mother to suicide and her father to prison. Now, she has a child of her own. Although she's attentive to her baby's needs, she also breaks rules and snaps at staffers, which puts her guardianship at risk (she and Shawn are serving time for violent altercations). Still, she believes that she's more mature than the baby's father, who brings in ill-fitting clothes for their son. Although the women are Christian, Jewish, and Muslim, religion doesn't really enter into their narratives in an obvious way. By film's end, one inmate experiences a breakup and another leaves the prison. Neve Tirza may seem more pleasant than most correctional facilities, but one senses that those who don't make an effort at self-improvement may well return to serve more time in years to come. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)