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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 1.Nov.25

Belén
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

MUST SEE

dir Dolores Fonzi
scr Laura Paredes, Dolores Fonzi
prd Hugo Sigman, Leticia Cristi, Matias Mosteirin
with with Dolores Fonzi, Camila Plaate, Laura Paredes, Julieta Cardinali, Sergio Prina, Luis Machin, Gaia Garibaldi, Cesar Troncoso, Lili
release Arg 18.Sep.25,
US/UK 7.Nov.25
25/Argentina MGM 1h45

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Opening with a breathtaking long take that follows a young woman through a harrowing hospital ordeal, actor-filmmaker Dolores Fonzi immediately gets the audience on the right side of this important true story from Argentina. What follows is unusually off-handed in the way it's written, directed and performed, blending real-life humour with political urgency to tell a moving story. It also highlights a thorny issue with refreshing universality.

In the conservative community of Tucuman, Argentina, in 2014, 24-year-old Julieta (Plaate) arrives at an emergency room with sharp abdominal pains. After being callously manhandled by doctors, they learn that she has had a miscarriage. And the police treat her even more appallingly. Held in prison without bail, she waits two years for her trial, which is botched by her distracted public defender (Cardinali) in front of a thoughtlessly sexist judge (Machin). Horrified by this injustice, human rights lawyer Soledad (Fonzi) and her partner Barbara (Paredes) take on Julieta's case to file an appeal.

Dramatised naturalistically, reminiscent of Ken Loach or Agnes Varda, the film homes in on the humanity rather than the issue. Because women are not taken seriously by the legal system, Julieta is ignored when she observes that the infant body found in the hospital could not have been hers. And her guilty verdict arrives without evidence or credible witnesses. To protect her from the press, Soledad renames her "Belen" to rally public support, leading to widespread protests about violent treatment of women by doctors, police officers and courts.

The earthy storytelling allows actors to find remarkable nuance. Fonzi shines as the crusading Soledad, whose plucky team refuses to give up at each obstacle. And she also creates a compelling family life with Prina as her patient, supportive husband Diego, plus their two brightly involved children. Meanwhile, Plaate brings Julieta to life with an often astonishingly internalised performance. This young woman has been through some serious horrors, but refuses to back down. And she also rejects public accolades, preferring to remain anonymous.

Indeed, the real Belen has never publicly revealed her identity, believing that it's more important for women to understand that this kind of thing could happen to anyone. So while the film grapples with abortion rights, that isn't actually the issue Belen has brought out into the daylight. Her landmark case marked the beginning of a shift in the justice system in Argentina. And the film recognises that there is still a long way to go.

themes, language, violence 29.Oct.25

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL