Cell 211 – Celda 211 (2009)

Directed by: Daniel Monzon | 113 minutes | action, drama | Actors: Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, Antonio Resines, Manuel Morón, Carlos Bardem, Luis Zahera, Fernando Soto, Vicente Romero, Manolo Solo, Marta Etura, Joxean Bengoetxea, Patxi Bisquert, Jesús Carroza, Félix Cubero, Jesus Del Caso, Antonio Durán ‘Morris’, Xavier Estevez, Suso Lista, Juan Carlos Mangas, Xosé Manuel Olveira ‘Pico’, Hilario Pino, Pedro Piqueras, David Selvas

The Spanish prison film ‘Cell 211’ won one prize after another in 2010. The story of a newfangled jailer who becomes involved in a prisoner uprising against his will, won actor awards, screenplay awards, and even a music award. The winning of five prestigious Goyas is particularly impressive, given the high standard of Spanish cinema in 2010.

‘Cell 211′ deserves all those awards, even though an originality award would be too much honour. In terms of (raw) tone and theme, there is little originality to be discovered in the film. Prison life is tough, the guards are often bigger villains than the inmates, and the adage ‘eat or be eaten’ applies within the prison walls. Themes and motives such as loyalty, betrayal, guilt and abuse of power do not deserve much credit in this setting.

Plot and execution are a lot more original. In a consistently sustained dose, the viewer is given chunks of information, information that the characters are remembered. As a result, the viewer knows much more than the prisoners. Ultimately, everything revolves around whether the guard Juan manages to escape from the chaos in the prison and whether he will see his pregnant wife again. Keeping this goal in mind and adding new elements all the time, the film transforms ‘Cell 211’ from a standard prison drama into a thriller of the very best kind. That tension, together with a few unexpected twists, makes the 113 minutes fly by.

Lovers of the better acting will also get their money’s worth here. This is mainly thanks to Luis Tosar. Hardly known in the Netherlands, Spaniards know Tosar as the vulnerable ex-worker José in ‘Los lunes al sol’ and as the husband with free hands in ‘Te doy mis ojos’. In ‘Cell 211’ Tosar succeeds in turning the dark character Alamadre into a man of flesh and blood: violent, worldly and with a charisma from here to Madrid.

A final point in favor of ‘Cell 211’ is that it never spares the viewer. The violence is of the crude kind and a good ending of the story is getting more and more out of sight by the minute. It makes the film slightly less suitable for overly sensitive viewers. For all other enthusiasts, they should not skip this Spanish winner.