Director: Dolores Fonzi
Writer: Laura Paredes, Dolores Fonzi, Agustina San Martin
Stars: Dolores Fonzi, Julieta Cardinali, Gaia Garabaldi
Synopsis: A woman hospitalized for pain discovers she’s pregnant. After a medical emergency, she faces criminal charges. With support from her attorney and women’s rights advocates, she fights for justice in a landmark case that could change lives.
Abortion is as sensitive a subject as an individual topic could get. The emotional reactions and feelings are passionate to either side and, unfortunately, to moments where violence against doctors, patients, and locatiosn where abortion is provided as happened. Of course, this country (the U.S.) has now been engulfed in this debate in recent years, but going to Latin America, it’s a whole different story. A region heavily influenced by the church, conservative values, even among those who are liberal, will maintain the pro-life position and heavily restrict access. Argentina is one of the very few countries in the region which has liberalized abortion laws and the true story of Belén is the catalyst as to why.
In the 2010s, a young woman named Julietta (Camila Pláate) enters the hospital complaining of abdominal pains and says she isn’t pregnant. Physically speaking, she doesn’t look so, but to the shock of the doctors and herself, she has miscarried and the fetus is left on the bathroom floor where Julietta goes into. She is in the operating room when police come in to arrest her on charges of having an illegal abortion, intentionally inducing it herself before going to seek help. Two years later, Julietta is convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. Soledad Deza (Dolores Fonzi), an attorney specializing in cases against women, hears about Julietta’s story and decides to seek out to clear Julietta’s name.
Illegal in most cases at the time, it immediately becomes obvious the system is built against them because Julietta is immediately presumed to be guilty despite no evidence presented against her. They are not going to be flexible, and socially, people are vehemently against them for even trying to defend this. A sensationalized press that calls Julietta an outright killer, a legal process that makes it hard for Soledad to get the files on the case, and open intimidation against them and Soledad’s family indicates how much people want them to fail. Remember, this is the 2010s, not the 1980s like in Argentina, 1985, where the country is decades past the military junta, and even with a left-leaning government in power (and the President at that time was female), abortion laws effectively doom pregnant women if something goes wrong.
Fonzi is a triple threat here as beside the lead role, she also is co-writer and director. In a story that is part-Vera Drake, part-Just Mercy, Fonzi plays her real-life hero as defiant and fearless like Atticus Finch, knowing she’s putting her safety on the line for something unpopular. Yet, it is a just cause because of the barriers that a society, while growing progressive in some ways, still maintains the patriarchal status quo on women’s rights. However, it started up a growing movement that helped women speak out boldly on something that was never discussed and addressed the systemic misogyny on women’s rights.
Belén, however, doesn’t come close to rising the real-life drama and the strain put on everyone, especially Julietta. The depth of some characters, such as Soledad’s assistants who are passionate in fighting for Julietta and other women, feel one-dimensional and the script staggers on like a TV melodrama. It could’ve used some of the same juice that Argentina, 1985 got from being a true story itself and keep us closer to the action. It’s a really powerful story and the performances of Fonzi and Pláate keep the film afloat despite its shortcomings and give hope to those who feel empathetic to this real story.
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