"With a strong background in documentary filmmaking, Peter Kerekes brings his unique eye for authenticity to his first fiction film. Set in a women's prison in Ukraine for new mothers and their babies, he avoids the easy pitfalls of sentimentality. His unflinching presentation of institutional callousness is consistently cinematic, political, and moral. Through an austere mise-en-scene and a series of understated performances, Karekes creates and captures a somber environment leavened by rare moments of tenderness."
