Miss Gulag

Russian-born American director Maria Yatskova's Miss Gulag focuses on a beauty pageant in a Siberian women's prison, offering a fascinating if selective look at life in post-Soviet Russia. Located in Novosibirsk, UF 91-9 (one of 35 such facilities in Russia) has been staging the competition since 1990. After an opening title notes that crimes committed by women doubled after the country's transition to democracy, Yatskova examines both the criminals and their offenses before returning to the contest (which actually takes up a relatively small portion of the documentary). A spokeswoman says the event gives the inmates “the chance to connect with freedom,” adding that it “will help them in their future lives” (70 percent of Russia's unemployed are female). Yatskova concentrates on three prisoners: Yulia, a drug trafficker and former heroin user; Tatiana, an armed robber who grew up in a state boarding school; and Natasha, convicted for assault, who lost a boyfriend to drugs. Only Natasha, who hails from Kazakhstan, has done her time; she does volunteer work until she can find a paying job, but returns to UF 91-9 during the course of the film to support her girlfriend and sing in the pageant. Along the way, Yatskova incorporates interviews (with relatives and correctional officers), family photographs, and newsreel footage, as well as dramatic re-enactment (which feels extraneous since the central trio is sufficiently compelling). An ideal companion to the similarly-themed Colombian La Corona (VL-1/10), this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)