I have been waiting a while now to watch a good prison movie and one day I get a message from my friend saying, “Have you seen Celda 211? It’s an awesome movie.” I tell him “no” and then immediately IMDB it only to find out that it is an award winning Spanish movie set within the confines of a prison. Intriguing, I know. Anyway, I then read further and find out that the film is about a new prison guard who gets left in the prison after a riot breaks out and has to pretend to be a new prisoner in order to survive. This was a fresh take on the prison genre and so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to watch it. The movie, as my friend says, was rather “awesome.” So if you like good movies, and especially good prison movies, then check out my review after the jump so that you can realize it is really worth your time.
Celda 211, or Cell 211, is directed by Daniel Monzón and stars Luis Tosar as Malamadre, the man who leads the prison rebellion, and Alberto Ammann as Juan Oliver, the security guard posing as a prisoner. As I mentioned above, Juan Oliver is impersonating a prisoner but what I hadn’t yet mentioned is that he somehow gets on the good side of the most feared/respected man in prison, Malamadre, and in doing buys himself some safety time. The downtime of the riot becomes a test of time and patience for all parties involved as the guards and the country of Spain try to negotiate with Malamadre and the prisoners. The basis for the riot was interesting because it was all for social change within the prison. I didn’t realize it until the end but thinking back it now reminds me of unions going on strike for inhumane treatment, except in this case it can actually turn bloody real fast.
This film is based off a book written by Francisco Pérez Gandul and I have to give props to him because this story is brilliant and crafted so well that I rarely found myself having any doubts about the validity of the story. I found myself engulfed in this movie because there was so much depth to it in regards to the character development, the importance of the supporting characters, and its ability to keep up an exciting and rational pace. What I mean by rational is that the film not only seemed realistic but its pacing was choreographed so well that each scene managed to keep you in suspense and transition your feelings of suspense to that of mere curiosity and wonder.
In addition to the pacing I thought the acting was terrific. Although Luis Tosar’s voice sounded like a dying cat for most of the movie, it worked for him because of the type of roughed up criminal that he was. Malamadre was honest, understanding and, at the same time, not to be screwed with. Although we tend to see characters like this in many prison films, we don’t see them like this during crazy riots. Tosar’s ability to convey all three of these characteristics simply wowed me.
When it comes to Alberto Ammann the first thing that comes to mind is Ed Norton. He reminds me exactly of Norton in his demeanor and persona. Both are quite yet intelligent, calm yet powerful. They both have a soft presence on screen and then manage to blow up and become the center of attention when the time calls for it. Juan Oliver’s character had the intelligence of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption and the daring attitude of Malik El Djebena from A Prophet. Ammann had to express almost every single emotion you could possibly have in this movie and pulled it off with great success. I have a feeling Ammann may blow up in Europe, or at least Spain, so keep a look out for him in the future.
Besides the acting, the sound in this movie impressed me. I don’t always talk about sound in film but I felt that the mixing and the score was spot on and made me feel like I was in a prison. The score consistently elevated my level of suspense while the sound mixing threw me onto the prison floor urging me to chant in rebellion somewhere between the Columbians and the Basque terrorists.
This film has it all, intelligence, action, drama, suspense, sadness and even a dash of comedy if you can manage to see through all the madness. There are very few modern day prison films that impress me but Cell 211 really did take me by surprise and I think it will do the same for you. Daniel Monzon has crafted an excellent prison film that will have movie watchers everywhere yelling demands as they join Juan and Malamadre in the riot.
Overall: An intelligent, suspenseful and emotional twist on the prison film genre
Trailer with Subtitles
Trailer 2 HQ Without Subs
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