Cell 211

Cell 211-480P

Cell 211-480P

The family man Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) leaves his beloved pregnant wife Elena (Marta Etura) at home to visit the prison where he will start working on the next day as prison guard to make a good impression. During his tour with the guards Armando Nieto (Fernando Soto) and his partner, a stone falls on his head and he faints. The two guards carry him to the empty cell 211, but out of the blue, there is a riot led by the dangerous Malamadre (Luis Tosar) and Juan is left behind by the two guards. When Juan awakes, he pretends to be a prisoner to survive and is forced to meet Malamadre. The leader Malamadre uses three political inmates from ETA as hostages to negotiate with the authorities and Juan helps him to write the terms of the negotiation. Meanwhile Elena finds that there is a rebellion in the prison and heads to the spot trying to get information about Juan. When the situation outside the prison is out of control, the SWAT and violent chief of the guards José Utrilla (Antonio Resines) beat the crowd and Elena is wounded by him. When Juan discovers what had happened with his wife, he becomes closer to Malamadre and changes his behavior taking the side of the inmates. Movies about prison are usually engaging, but "Celda 211" is spectacular and one of the best films about prison. The dramatic screenplay is realistic, with a story of friendship and pain using the background of the environment of a prison and ETA in Spain, and the tight direction is supported by top-notch performances. The unknown actress Marta Etura is so gorgeous and sweet that increases the impact of her incident. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "Cela 211" ("Cell 211")

Cell 211 is a movie about a soon to be prison guard named Juan who becomes trapped inside a prison when a riot breaks out. He lies about his real identity and soon becomes best friends with the prisons tough guy. The movie is full with clichés and is often too far fetched. Juan seems to know everything and says all the right things at the right time, which becomes really annoying at one point. His girlfriend is pregnant (extra drama), and her parts in the movie are just horrible. Why the F does a pregnant girl attend a demonstration? And of course she gets hit, and of course it's one of the guards that beats her and of course this gets taped with his face clearly shown, and of course one of the prisoners gets this video on a mobile phone and shows this to Juan. I mean jeez... I could go on, there are many other situation which are so bad, so I was really surprised to see that this movie got a 7,6 rating (at the time of writing this). Oke it's not all bad, Juan's acting was pretty good and some parts were really suspenseful. I liked the first part were it was dubious if the prisoners would believe Juan's story - which was a turning point in the movie. Although I like prison movies, this is a very forgettable one and I would not recommend it to my friends. Too bad, I went in with high expectations (maybe this was the problem).

I know films are not supposed to mirror reality, just build one in which you can spend 90 minutes believing a story. Still I find completely impossible to follow this one to the end without laughing at his crude script tricks, absurd subplots and unbelievable characters. It is not that it doesn't mate with the Spanish reality, it doesn't even follow the logic it sets at the beginning, which makes it unbelievable. I would even dare to say it's a personal trait of its scriptwriter, as it happens in most of his films. The main character is an evil man who can lead a prison revolt, yet is incapable of following trough or make anything of the traitor that is boycotting him. Then he dies, shot in his back in the final 10 minutes so that we can sympathize with him. All the rest of the characters are simplistic, one dimensional, exist only when the writer needs them, then disappear without any reason. I can't really understand why it has been so successful considering its merits, an i would attribute that to the efficient work of its director, who keeps the roller coaster ride at a good pace and specially, to the brilliant work of the two protagonists, whose charisma makes up for all the failings of their characters.

This movie is one of the best prison movies I've ever seen. It starts with a chaos in prison but as the story unveils and unfolds it becomes more and more compelling. Throughout the movie, there is an atmosphere of tension and that tension has been kept till the end. You are kept on the edge continuously. There is a feeling that something's going to happen at every moment and the filmmaker have been successful in making a good movie. Whenever I view a movie, I always try to learn something out of it. This movie helps you learn a lot about the very human nature, the insecurities and the desperate measures every sane (non-criminal) person can resort to in tough circumstances. I am a huge fan of Spanish horror movies. Their horror movies are very intelligent. But after seeing this movie I've become fan of not only Spanish horror but the overall Spanish movies. This movie is a must watch for Prison movie lovers, but I can assure you that this film will be liked even by non prison movie lovers.

I believe there is a prison sub-genre of movies. This is the best I have seen in this sub-genre and is very close to the French "Un Prophete". The action starts immediately and the characters are build through out the movie. There are a few flashbacks, just to cool off the action momentarily. Luis Tosar as the leading prisoner is just amazing, his voice is so unique. This thriller is so intense, but without a sea of blood or extremely violent scenes, just amazing dialogs, acting and especially plot. The prisoners are not presented as bodybuilders full of tattoos, but exactly as they are in real life. Everything is happening so fast, just as needed to trap your eyes and mind, like only a handful Hollywood films. Only few scenes out of the jail, just to add to the intrigue and last a couple of minutes each. Finally I want to write about unpredictability, which is my first concern when I watch modern cinema: no actions or dialogs can be predicted, so different with the typical Hollywood scheme. Carlos Bardem pretends that he is an inmate; one can say that he will be discovered at the very end; but even so, this happens so suddenly and at a moment that it doesn't make any difference. 10 out of 10 and highly recommended.

It rips off every prison movie cliché. I found Prison Break more interesting than this. The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal. the comedy and characters were so unrealistic as a prison film that it just ruined it for me. It reminded me of overly dramatic Spanish soap operas. Quite a few in the audience were laughing out loud at the comedy that was unfolding in this supposed dramatic prison film. So many things were unbelievable it was difficult to take any part of it seriously. Better off renting Oz.

Richard Pena, Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, kicked off the Opening Night of the 18th edition of Spanish Cinema Now series at Walter Reade Theater by calling to the stage actors, directors and dignitaries who were in attendance for the New York premiere of Cell 211. Ignasi Guardans Cambo, General Director of the Spanish Film Institute (ICAA) of the Ministry of Culture, compared the Spanish Cinema Now series to an introduction of "this years harvest." A fine analogy considering the honest effort, time, sacrifice, teamwork and small miracle in tilling a harvest . The Director of Cell 211, Daniel Monzon, closed out the casual pre-screening ceremony by expressing his warm appreciation for the opportunity to screen in New York City, the setting of King Kong, the movie that inspired his career. Cell 211 opens with a scene of of detailed action. Before any introduction to characters, we meet pain and suffering. A provocative first round. Juan Oliver, played by Alberto Ammann, is starting a job as a prison guard. He decides to show initiative by going to the prison a day early for a lay of the land. He "kisses" his beautiful and preganant wife goodbye and heads to work. Be careful of how you make a first impression and who you choose to make it on. Juan's tour of the prison facility takes a turn for the worse and, as Monzon puts it, he is put through "the worst things a human can go through, in 30 hours." The action and motivation in Cell 211 hangs on plot and role reversal. In the end the bad man is "more noble than then guardians of law" said the director. Monzon was asked during the post-screening Q&A if he hoped the movie would affect change in the Spanish prison system. "I should be so pretentious." Portraying elements of the prison experience with truth and honesty was important to the filmmaker. Time was spent with infamous prisoners during the development process, filming took place in a functioning prison and extras were actual prisoners. "I don't know," said the director when asked on how he was given such access. "Seduction." Alberto Amman, in his first film acting role, puts in a solid performance. Monzon spoke of a conversation that he had with the novice actor in which Ammann said he felt he was "cheating" alongside proved actors like Luis Tosar, who humanizes the portrayal of the violent Malamadre. Monzon directed Ammann to harness that feeling as it fed directly into his character's mode of survival. The entire cast is up to task in Cell 211, including Carlos Bardem, Javier's brother, who plays a slippery jailhouse thug. Check out Cell 211 showing today at Walter Reade as part of Film Society of Lincoln Center's Spanish Now series. Don't fret if you cant get tickets. IFC announced earlier in the day that it will distribute the film through Festival Direct VOD program and the Director "hopes for some theatrical relaease, too." The movie is ripe for remake and Richard Pena said as much in his introduction of Cell 211. Don't expect a solid remake. Watch the original. Below is a link to Cell 211's Spanish language website http://www.celda211.com/ and a link to information on the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Spanish Cinema Now series http://filmlinc.org/wrt/onsale/spanish09.html RC

I watched this movie three years ago.Celda 211 is a 2009 Spanish prison film directed by Daniel Monzon.The movie's main characters are Luis Tosar,Alberto Ammann and Antonio Resines. Juann Oliver, wants to work in prison.But later an insane prisoner beat up to Juan Oliver and he puts it him in an empty cell.Lately 'I am guilty,I stabbed my wife' says Juan Oliver to the head of prisoners.And the events are continue like this. I think this movie is the most excited and enjoyable prison film.Also this movie have won award in many areas.And the acts are so successful.I have never watched another prison film similar to this movie.If you really want to watch an exciting movie,don't forget to watch this movie!