Belén Review: When the System Becomes the Punishment
A woman who suffers a miscarriage in a hospital is arrested for murder and sent to prison in this Argentine film that follows the efforts to free her. The cast includes Dolores Fonzi, Camila Plaate, Laura Paredes, and Julieta Cardinali.
Belén arrived one dawn at [translate:«Hospital Avellaneda en Tucumán»] with severe abdominal pain. Diagnosed with "acute abdomen," she suffered a miscarriage. In response to this obstetric emergency, she was taken to the gynecology ward for dilation and curettage.
Upon waking from anesthesia, she found herself surrounded by police officers. The medical staff had accused her of inducing an abortion. Shortly after, the judicial system intervened, and five days later, instead of being discharged, she was transferred directly to the [translate:«prisión de mujeres Santa Ester»].
«This is how Dr. Soledad Deza opens her report on what became known as the “Caso Belén”—a case that shocked Argentina and drew international attention in the mid-2010s.»
The film, directed by Dolores Fonzi and inspired by Ana Correa’s book Somos Belén, reconstructs the ordeal of a young woman (whose real name remains undisclosed). She arrives at the hospital in intense pain and receives minimal care. When she requests to use the bathroom, she returns bleeding heavily, soon falls asleep, and wakes up handcuffed and accused of murder.
«The staff, weary or indifferent, administer painkillers and pay little attention.»
Summary: Belén powerfully exposes the harsh realities of a justice and healthcare system that punishes vulnerable women instead of supporting them during medical emergencies.
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