Maternal

In a nunnery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, there is a women’s refuge for young mothers and their toddlers, a so-called hogar. The mothers, barely adults themselves, are relatively free to do what they want, but still some feel entrapped by the nuns’ rules. The rude Luciana, who has a 4-year-old daughter called Nina, and her best friend Fati, who is pregnant of her second child, also feel this way.

One day, Paola, a young, quiet Italian novice arrives at the nunnery. She has to complete a trial period before taking the oath. Luciana sometimes sneaks out of the nunnery to go meet her new lover, and one day she does not return from her nightly escapades, so Paola jumps in as a surrogate taking care of Nina who is left behind. Fati and the other nuns find this very suspicious.

Three women who each in their own way show the complexity of motherhood. Hogar is sensitive, patient and serene cinema that makes one think about the role of a mother in all her variegation. The film is not only cinematographically impressive, also the direction is top-notch. Most of the young girls are played by non-professional actors. This film beautifully shows the contradictions within the nunnery walls, the stern doctrine the nuns have to follow, and the girls’ frivolity.

Maura Delpero used to direct documentaries and this film was her successful jump into fiction. For four years, she gave cinema workshops for teen moms in Buenos Aires, which inspired her to make Hogar.