Stockholm Film Festival

Julia wakes up in her apartment, fully dressed, all bruised up and covered in blood. Something is clearly wrong. Still, she showers and goes to work as usual. In the evening, she comes home only to find two naked bodies on the apartment floor. It turns out to be her boyfriend and his lover. Julia, confused and several months pregnant, is charged with murder and sent to a special prison for women with children.

Actress Martina Gusmán’s portrait of Julia, struggling to raise her son in this abnormal environment, is as subtle as it is impressive. Her character unfolds and becomes increasingly more ambiguous as time passes. And even though Lion’s Den is no coming-of-age movie, we get to watch the initially irresponsible Julia mature throughout the film.

Argentine director Pablo Trapero dexterously combines moments of silence with almost timid camera work, creating an atmosphere of both tediousness and unmistakable warmth, similar to the peculiar prison atmosphere that surrounds Julia.

Premiere Status

Swedish Premiere

Orig. title

Leonera

Cast

Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros, Rodrigo Santora

Producer

Pablo Trapero, Youngjoo Suh

Script

Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre, Pablo Trapero

Cinematography

Guillermo Nieto

 

Other films from the Latino section

See all the festival films from 2008