Punkchart Films
Slovakian director Péter Kerekes provides a humanistic glimpse into the lives of imprisoned mothers in a Ukrainian correctional facility.
Directed by: Péter Kerekes
Year: 2021
Country: Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Ukraine
Length: 93 minutes
The Odessa Correctional Facility Number 74 is one of the two Ukrainian prisons in which mothers can serve their sentences close to their children, until the children reach their third birthday and are sent to the orphanage, losing contact with their mothers.
In 107 Mothers we follow the process these women go through, through the eyes of Lesya (played by actress Maryna Klimova), a young woman who has just received a seven-year prison sentence for killing her husband out of jealousy. In the beginning of the film we see her give birth to a baby outside of the facility, who is quickly taken away from his mother, upon their return. The mother and newborn reside in different spaces, locked away from each other.
What follows is an extensive exploration of the lives of both mother and child in the facility, their bond, and the people they connect with. Through conversations between inmates, inmates speaking with and being observed by guards, visits by relatives and the rare meetings between mother and child, we get to hear what’s on their mind. Various scenes show the mothers trying to do everything to connect with their child. The women’s biggest fear is to have their child taken away from them. They try to apply for probation and find a home for them, before the children get sent to the orphanage.
For the biggest part of the film, 107 Mothers is a bleak and deeply affecting piece about a group of mothers struggling with loneliness and guilt, while constantly having their children taken away from them. The first moment of relief and comfort in the film doesn’t appear until 20 minutes in, when the mothers are finally allowed to breastfeed their child under strict surveillance. An act which would be perceived as ordinary in any other situation, but in this scene it beautifully exudes the pure, exceptional love of a mother for her child.
The cast of 107 Mothers mostly consists of actual people playing themselves and telling their own stories. Iryna Kiryazeva, who plays an operational officer in the prison, still works at the facility. The performances of the few professional actors blend in perfectly with the rest, making it nearly impossible to tell whether any of those people aren’t really (re-)living their own experiences, creating a perfect blend of documentary and fiction.
Through the insight this film gives its audience into the lives of the incarcerated mothers, it becomes very apparent that a lot of work has been put into getting these stories right. The film has been made over the course of five years, with a shoot that lasted 86 days. The crew has spent several years in prison with the inmates, trying to get to know them as people, to be able to translate their stories to the big screen.
107 Mothers premiered at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti selection.
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