Film: Lion’s Den
Release date: 24th May 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 113 mins
Director: Pablo Trapero
Starring: Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros, Rodrigo Santoro
Genre: Drama
Studio: Axiom
Format: DVD
Country: Argentina
Director Pablo Trapero is not one to shy away from controversy, and having tackled incest, immigration and corruption, his attention turned to the controversial subject of motherhood in prison.
The film opens with Julia, our leading lady, lying on her bed fully clothed - her pillow and hands covered in blood. She brushes the hair from her face, smearing the blood from her hands in the process. As she gets in the shower, we notice the side of her face and some of her back is cut up and badly hurt. She slowly washes the blood from herself and gets dressed. Her apartment is ransacked, the furniture has been toppled over, and there are two dead bodies – one being her partner.
An already pregnant Julia has no recollection of the events that led to these deaths, but given the damning evidence, she is soon incarcerated - forced to give birth to her child in a prison environment…
The Spanish jail system allows pregnant inmates to live together in a single block, separated from the other inmates. Once the baby is born, he/she can stay with their mum until the age of 4. The child is then taken away and put with the inmate’s family, or into state care.
Director Pablo Trapero holds nothing back in his portrayal of the characters and plot through his stark and often gritty directing, and the first scene is a perfect reflection of the dark realism which follows. It is difficult to watch a group of pregnant mothers sit in a circle practicing their breathing exercises, surrounded by squalor and mess, and there is no shortage of such scenes. It is even more difficult to watch these women raise their children in this environment - tiny little tots plodding around playing with saucepans and cups. We feel pity for these children who, for all intents and purposes, are imprisoned themselves. And this leads to a number of questions. Is it right for these children to be here? What is more important, the freedom of the outside world or for them to bond with their mothers? We rightly feel anger towards some of the inmates who have put their children in this situation - maybe some even became pregnant intentionally so they could be moved to a more comfortable wing - but, at the same time, seeing these inmates with their children adds a human element that is lost in a lot of other prison dramas. It forces the viewer to see the inmates as individuals; they are not just the crime they committed, but mothers and human beings.
The film also looks intensely at relationships. The primary focus is between Julia and her mother – who is intent in taking the child out of this undesirable environment, which ultimately leads to an exciting finale as Julia seeks to reconnect with her abducted child – but also the friendship/love affair that develops with one of the other inmates, Marta. The characters are written and performed to perfection, so we never feel as if the emotions on display are being faked. Julia changes and grows throughout the film as a result of these relationships, and we willingly go on the journey with her. It’s pretty intense, and there are some shocking scenes, but it never sensationalises and always engages.
Lion’s Den is a harrowing tale of love and deception that takes the viewer on a rollercoaster ride of thoughts and emotions. CC
