Sister Paola has just arrived in Buenos Aires from Italy to take her final vows at a religious center for teen mums, where Lu and Fati, two 17-year-old mothers, live. The two friends present Paola with many challenging situations—especially when Lu escapes, leaving behind her daughter, Nina.

Wrestling with the religious ideal and the messy reality of maternal care, Italian documentarian Maura Delpero’s first narrative film is a moving melodrama about the conflicted plight of motherhood. This assured, beautiful portrait of femininity at the margins bristles with intrigue and compassion.