Leonera (2008)

Director:

Pablo Trapero

Writers:

Alejandro Fadel (writer) &
Martín Mauregui (writer) ...

Release Date:

29 May 2008 (Argentina)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Motherhood Behind Bars

Plot:

An incarcerated woman struggles to raise her son from prison.

Plot Keywords:

Jail | Murder Suspect | One Word Title | Zoo | Mother And Child

Awards:

14 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Martina Gusman	...	Julia
Elli Medeiros	...	Sofia
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Ramiro
Laura García	...	Marta
Tomás Plotinsky	...	Tomás VI (as Tomas Plotinsky)
Leonardo Sauma	...	Ugo Casman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Cignoli	...	Perito Psicólogo
Roberto Maciel	...	Abogado de Oficio
Ricardo Ragendorfer	...	Juez de Instrucción (as Ricardo Raguendorfer)
Clara Sajnovetzky	...	Elsa

Also Known As:

Desencuentro (Argentina) (working title)
Leonera (Brazil)
Lion's Den (International: English title)
Misencounter (International: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

Argentina | South Korea | Brazil

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Belgium:KT | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Poland:15 | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | USA:Not Rated | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Batán Penitentiary, Batán, Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Matanza Cine

Trivia:

Argentina's 2009 Academy Awards official submission to Foreign-Language Film category.

Soundtrack:

La Peregrinacion

Confused but also Engaging

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"