Lion’s Den (Argentina), Pablo Trapero’s strongly sympathetic story of an imprisoned young mother struggling to keep custody of her newborn son and free them both, is our ‘one to watch’ for August.
Tragic and ill-fated Julia awakens on a bloodstained pillow with no memory of the murder she may or may not have committed the night before. Tried for the brutal stabbing of her lover and his cohort, the newly pregnant protagonist of Pablo Trapero’s fifth feature must wait out a complicated trial process in prison custody, confined to a specialized ward for expectant women, mothers and their children. Offering a stark glimpse into the harsh struggle to raise and maintain a child in the Argentine prison system, Lion’s Den follows Julia’s transformation over a period of years from vulnerable and damaged youth to a loving mother determined to nourish and protect her innocent offspring in an environment of unimaginable squalor.
Argentine writer/director Trapero crafts a vigorously raw yet ultimately redemptive tale of the tenderness that can triumph and bloom in the most harrowing circumstances and hardship, anchored by a stunningly ferocious performance from Martina Gusman who brings a rich intensity to the victimized Julia. With skilled precision and sobering focus, Trapero elevates the female prison picture into a work of remarkable sensitivity. Much of Lion’s Den was shot in maximum security prisons, utilizing staff and inmates in supporting roles.