Cell 211
Director: Daniel Monzon
Genre: Thriller, Action, World cinema, Drama
Year: 2009
Country: Spain
Language: Spanish Language, Basque Language, English Language
Starring: Marta Etura, Antonio Resines, Luis Tosar, Carlos Bardem, Alberto Ammann, Manuel Morón, Jesús Carroza, Manolo Solo, Luis Zahera, Félix Cubero
Cell 211 (Spanish: Celda 211) is a 2009 Spanish prison film directed by Daniel Monzón, starring Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann and Antonio Resines.
Juan Oliver wants to make a good impression at his new job as a prison officer and reports to work a day early, leaving his pregnant wife, Elena, at home. During his tour of the prison, an accident occurs that knocks him unconscious. He is rushed to the empty but visibly haunted walls of cell 211. As this diversion unfolds, convicts break free and hijack control of the penitentiary. Aware of the violence that is to come, the prison officers flee, leaving Juan stranded and unconscious in the heart of the riot. When Juan awakens, he immediately takes stock of the situation; in order to survive, he must pretend to be a prisoner.
Juan manages to convince the other prisoners that he is one of them, and that he just entered the prison that very day for homicide. He not only makes himself believed as inmate, but befriends the violent, deep voiced leader of the riot, Malamadre (Badmother in English), who takes him under his wing.
Malamadre discovers that Basque terrorists associated with ETA are being held in the same prison, and plans to use them
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"Daniel Monzón's Cell 211 is a gripping, suspenseful thriller, as well as a political commentary on the situation in Spanish jails today. While the film hits several notes popular to the prison film genre, it also questions the extent to which the violence characteristically bred within these facilities is due to the “untameable” disposition of the prisoner.
Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) wants to make a good impression at his new job as a prison officer and reports to work a day early, leaving his pregnant wife, Elena (Marta Etura), at home. His destiny is forever changed by this fateful decision, as during his tour of the prison, an accident occurs that knocks him unconscious. He is rushed to the empty but visibly haunted walls of cell 211. As this diversion unfolds, inmates of the high-security cellblock strategically break free and hijack the penitentiary. Aware of the violence that is to come, the prison officers flee, leaving Juan stranded and unconscious in the heart of the riot. When Juan awakens, he immediately takes stock of the situation; in order to survive, he must pretend to be a prisoner.
Juan develops a dialogue with the violent leader of the riot, Badass (an incredible Luis Tosar, who also played the villain in Michael Mann's Miami Vice), and the two begin a partnership, Badass fully believing that Juan is a new inmate. Negotiations go smoothly until the rioters take three ETA (the militant Basque separatist organization) prisoners hostage. When this hits the news, it triggers a stream of prison riots throughout the country as well as demonstrations in the Basque Country.
Juan quickly realizes that he is on his own as the situation becomes more politicized and the government gets involved, afraid of potential ramifications in the Basque community. As the drama heightens, unexpected shifts in character both within and without the prison occur. Tinged with social undertones, Cell 211 offers an entertaining yet provocative reflection on the moral grey...
Internet Movie Database