Lion's Den

“Women in prison” movies don't have an especially good reputation, but Pablo Trapero's Lion's Den stands apart. Set in Argentina, the film presents a serious study of Julia (Martina Gusman), a pregnant woman accused of murdering her lover, who delivers her baby while incarcerated and raises her son for years behind bars as her case moves slowly through the judicial system. She's aided by her sympathetic cellmate, Marta (Laura García), with whom she develops a close (indeed, sexual) relationship, but in time her own estranged mother (Elli Medeiros) arrives, intending to take the child and raise him herself, setting the stage for a rather melodramatic final act that strains credulity. Despite the overwrought finale and occasional descents into genre clichés (with lesbian overtones and inmate fights), most of Lion's Den maintains a stark, quasi-documentary tone. The actual prison locations give the film a grimly realistic feel that makes the sight of kids playing in such a bleak environment even more incongruous, while Gusman delivers a thoroughly convincing performance as Julia, whose guilt is deliberately left uncertain. Offering a strong portrayal of the maternal instinct while also illustrating the difficulty of deciding what's best for the children of imprisoned women, this absorbing drama is recommended. (F. Swietek)