Lion's Den

Julia wakes in her flat covered in blood: one of her lovers is dead, the other injured, and she remembers nothing. Awaiting trial, she is found to be pregnant and sent to the wing reserved for mothers and pregnant prisoners. She gives birth there and starts raising the child inside. The question at the centre is not the killing. When the child turns four he is taken out of the wing and handed to relatives outside, and Julia's entire struggle runs against that date. Pablo Trapero directed, with Martina Gusman both starring and producing. Gusman said the point was to draw attention to the situation of imprisoned mothers. It played in competition at Cannes in 2008 and was Argentina's submission for the foreign language Oscar. The difficulty is that the prison scenes are harsh and loud, the camera stays inside the crowd, and the film never offers a moment of relief. Who it is for: viewers who like Latin American realism and prison drama. Who it is not for: anyone who cannot watch hard scenes involving a child.