Synopsis
Julia, a 25 year-old university student, two weeks pregnant, with no criminal record, is sent to prison. Julia murdered the father of her child. This story addresses maternity, jail and Justice; confinement, guilt and solitude; but above all it deals with Julia and her son, Tomas, born inside an Argentinean prison.
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Cast
- Martina GusmánJulia
- Elli MedeirosSofia
- Rodrigo SantoroRamiro
- Laura GarcíaMarta
- Tomás PlotinskyTomás VI
- Leonardo SaumaUgo Casman
- Walter CignoliPerito Psicólogo
- Roberto MacielAbogado de Oficio
- Clara SajnovetzkyElsa
Recommendations
- 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Guillermo Nieto's hand-held camerawork mimics Julia's nervous energy and keeps the audience locked up along with her, working in symbiosis with Federico Esquerro's forcefully realistic sound design. - 80
The Telegraph
It has the desperate vitality of something barely made-up. - 80
Time Out
Part meticulous character study, part hyperrealist drama, Trapero’s film is as interested in documenting how such an institution functions on a day-to-day basis as he is in presenting the joys and pains of female cohabitation in such a confined space. - 75
New York Post
The dimly lit, exquisitely composed cinematography, by Guillermo Nieto, adds to the draw of this highly recommended movie. - 70
The New York Times
Although it is not a comedy, Lion’s Den is suffused with sense of life lived in the present. Even the grimmest moments are not exploited to instill fear and loathing. - 63
San Francisco Chronicle
Unfortunately the movie is also a bit too long, and for long stretches it's about as entertaining as, well, a long stretch. Still, if this were one of those movie-review TV shows, I'd have to give Lion's Den a (tiny) thumb's up, for its aura of authenticity and for the ferocity of Gusman's commitment. - 60
The Guardian
Frustratingly, the film tells us little about the crime itself and the denouement is a little unconvincing. The taste of sweat and fear is, however, real enough. - 60
Empire
Too many generic tropes for this downbeat, detached melodrama to convince as a work of social realism but a strong central performance and convincing depiction of the compartmentalisation of Argentina's women.
