Sentenced for Life

Inside the high walls of a prison, people try their best to lead normal lives: they get married, raise children, gossip and make plans for future. As convicted women tell each other about the motives behind their actions, even the most brutal crimes gain a new perspective. Despite strict rules and massive window bars, the inmates' lace-decorated cells seem cosy. When the prison is a refuge from life itself, the question arises whether, for some, restricted freedom can be more liberating than an unrestricted one.

Once again Marcin Koszałka, the sensational director of Till it Hurts, dwells deep into the human mind, to a place where concepts such as freedom and love are not mere worn-out clichés. The film is like a window to the closed world of its protagonists, terrified by their friends’ reactions and the idea of returning to reality – but also tempted to start a new life.

Sissi Korhonen | Translation by Senni Lähde