Leonera

The women in prison genre is often associated with cat-calling girl-fights and the guilty pleasure to the audience of women talking dirty and acting, actions supposed to be the purview of Tarzan aping men. Trapero's Leonera offers something else, an inquisition into how a life behind bars can change the human psyche and create a bond between a child and a mother. Echoing the early movies of the French New Wave that placed the gyneco-issues front and center and the point of view objectivity of the Dardenne Brothers, it is a worthy addition to what can be called the post-modern woman's picture. What is it like to give birth to your child behind bars? To have your child taken away, the rejoinder and enjoinder are all explored. With a wonderful performance by Martina Gusman, it is another worthy canon to 21st Century Argentine cinema.

Where to start with "Leonera", a tale of unexplainable love, strength and growth? Well, I could say that to make a movie as powerful as this one, would require not only love for cinema, but strength and growth acquired with the years? Pablo Trapero is in love with his work; he lives with it as his characters live with their stories: fighting.

Just as Zapa fought for a place in the police force and had it tough in "El Bonaerense", Julia Zárate has to fight for respect when she arrives to a cell in a prison, and later on for her son, Tomás. The 'love' factor may not be the best way of expressing the power of "Leonera", but it's certainly a good one because it's a characteristic that's present throughout the entire ride and that you might not take so much into account.

Trapero is so very in love with his wife Martina Gusmán too. She plays the main role of Julia and she does it with tremendous expertise and maturity, appearing younger than she really is; being strong when she must and completely defenseless when the circumstances requires. Yes, Gusmán is the driving force of "Leonera", but it's fair to say that it wouldn't be the same if the camera didn't love her like it does.

Here, as in "Familia Rodante" inside the van (and also in "El bonaerense", though with not the same impact), the director's collaboration with cinematographer Guillermo Nieto is crucial. The camera's focus on Julia is constant, with close-ups that sometimes are even repulsive, when we see her in her worst state, as she goes through the most dreadful experiences. I could tell you these experiences one by one, but it would be pointless.

When I wrote about "Familia Rodante" I said: "Trapero directs so close to reality that we could be watching a documentary". This is a compliment, because to move the viewer there's nothing more effective than reality. If Julia goes through all these things is because she must have done something, because reality involves people, and in the end is always going to be about people.

More than ever, Trapero's eye for reality makes the difference of what's going on in Argentina with the film industry today. The script of "Leonera", which he wrote with his collaborators, is sharp and harsh; with a strong vocabulary that resounds through the wall of this ward of this prison, another main character as, in the best Frank Darabont tradition, the ward in "The Green Mile" and the whole prison in "The Shawshank Redemptions".

In the objective of representing reality that no other national filmmaker today, Trapero observes the prison during the film, presenting shots of the installations from different angles; during the day, during the night, while it's raining. This way, we can identify with Julia's situation, without having to defend her position, something Trapero never demands us to do. There's one sequence in which Julia's baby starts crying and the camera goes through the windows of every cell, where every baby in the prison starts crying. The crying becomes so loud that we want to cover our ears.

There are villains and best friends in "Leonera", because they have to be. There must be someone who wants to keep Julia away from her son, and there has to be someone who will help her with her problems inside the prison. In Julia's relationship with these characters, if you try to see it that way, what rules is, going back to the beginning, love.

Though it sounds like a cliché, and there are many other reasons (and I tried to develop some) to explain Trapero's latest film's magical quality, we can't deny that there's nothing like motherly love. Trapero knows it and he makes us feel it, surrounding us with real people (you have to watch this; you'll see really real people).

Renowned critics say that we can't talk about New Argentine Cinema anymore, that we have to say Argentine Cinema. You can call it whatever you want, I'll just tell you there are incredible films like "Leonera" being made and you shouldn't miss them, beyond every prejudice you could have.

70 years of movie going and with seeing 'Lion's Den' I've experienced the most remarkable film of my life. The writers delivered a great story which then had life breathed into it by sensitized actors, both writers and actors efforts directed with enormous creative humanity by Pablo Trabero. I saw no artifice and after watching some of the movie allowed myself a mili-second of time to think of 'Lion's Den' as being a documentary before forgetting any of that and just became an involved, rapt viewer. Deeply touching. Deeply human. This review does not contain enough lines - the minimum length for reviews is 10 lines of text. There!

Shot inside a prison in Argentina with actual prisoners as extras, this film is raw and the viewer is trusted to endure the harsh realities of women and children in this environment. Martina Gusman is excellent! There are times where the pacing of the film seems to meander, but this is bold filmmaking and the story is excellent. It is heartbreaking to see how poorly the legal system works and the injustice so many women face. This is a real story about a forgotten population and it is told well.

In Buenos Aires, the independent college student Julia Zárate (Martina Gusman) awakes in her apartment with gore everywhere and her lover Nahuel stabbed and his lover Ramiro (Rodrigo Santoro) covered of blood but still alive. Julia is pregnant and is sent to a special wing in the prison with mothers and pregnant prisoners to wait for trial. Julia befriends Marta (Laura Garcia), who has two children and helps her to understand motherhood and life in prison. Julia delivers Tomás (Tomas Plotinsky) and sooner her mother tries to kidnap her grandson, causing a rebellion in Julia's wing. When Ramiro, who was also Julia's lover, accuses her of murdering Nahuel, her expectation of raising Tomás is frustrated.

Movies about prison are usually interesting and in this regard "Leonera" is engaging. I do not recall any other movie of this theme showing a mother raising her son in this environment, especially in a Third World country. The humanity of the guards in the Argentinean prison surprises. However, the screenplay of "Leonera" is a complete mess in the development of the lead character Julia. If this story was based on a true event, I could understand the non-conclusive situation; however, it is fictional and there are many flaws in Julia's character and the most obvious is whether she is guilty or innocent. The viewer never knows if she killed her lover Nahuel or not. Then she rejects her baby and tries to provoke an abortion, hitting her womb several times; why she changes her behavior after the birth of Tomás is again never clear. I recall that one prisoner tells her that the wing where she is imprisoned is totally different from the rest of the prison. Last but not the least, her triangle of love with Nahuel and Ramiro is extremely confused, considering that Ramiro is the lover of Nahuel. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Leonera"