Cela 211

A Spanish thriller based on the eponymous novel by Francisco Pérez Gandul.

Cell 211 tells the story of a riot inside a dangerous ward, just when a new prison officer is having his introductory visit to the same. By chance, he sees himself locked in with the rioters and, to survive, he assumes, a new identity as a prisoner.

Although the story is not especially original, the characters and the script are very good, the situation is completely believable within the Spanish social and jail context, and the end is not as predictable as you might expect. Moreover, the movie is unpretentious and fresh, which makes it even more enjoyable.

The acting is very good by all the cast, but especially by Luis Tosar as Malamadre, by Alberto Ammann as Juan Oliveras, and Antonio Resines as Prison officer Utrilla.

A very entertaining Spanish thriller with very good acting, that won 8 Goyas (Spanish Oscars) in 2009.

Good movie, well worth seeing.

Great idea for a movie, apparently the Yanks are going to remake it.

I think that will be good too, if they polish this movie up well, it will be even better.

New scariest movie prison dude ever in the halfwit enforcer.

Fair bit of action, pretty tense at times, even the wife or girlfriend will enjoy it as it's very easy to follow, even with the subtitles.

Not for kids, but there is nothing in here teenagers haven't seen before.

Got to fill in some more lines ffs. Is that enough?

Greetings from Lithuania.

So so. It's been a long time, when i last time saw a film about prisons. Maybe it was "The Shawshank Redemption", i truly can't remember. I think, there isn't much films these days about "true" prison life (i still didn't saw "Un prophète"). Now, the thing i want to say is that i can't remember any other "prison" movie, except "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Midnight Express",but now, i'll always remember "Celda 211" (Cell 211-international title). This film goes "straight to the bone". Really great cinematography, excellent job by director (two thumbs up to Daniel Monzón), unbelievable acting - still can't believe that these guys aren't real prisoners. This film has it all. The only reason i saw this film, is that i watched "Agora", another great film from Spain, and was really surprised, when i heard, that "Agora" was overwhelmed at Goya Awards by some "prison drama". Now i can say, that "Celda 211" is the best film from Europe in long time - and i don't say this very often.

Go and watch this film, You won't be regretting.

Gran película and bravo to Spain!

This is a great movie mainly for two reasons:

1. The script is not a typical Hollywood storyline. It's very realistic and powerful.

2. The performances of all actors are superb. In contrast to Hollywood movies, the actors in this movie are not models who decided to move to the film business but real actors.

Fortunately, there are still cinema people who do not see movies as commercial products for sale with the purpose of bringing enormous profit to the producers but rather works of art. There is still hope for cinema.

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")