Every so often I stumble upon a really great movie I’ve never heard of before. I added Cell 211 to my Netflix queue some time ago after seeing the trailer. Working my way through the list, Cell 211 finally graced my DVD player.
Juan Oliver is a young man who just got a job as a prison security guard. Looking to make a great first impression for his new bosses, he goes to work a day early to learn the lay of the land. Turns out he picked a really bad day to that has he gets trapped in the prison when a mutinous riot breaks out. To save his skin and insure that he sees his pregnant wife again, Juan manages to trick the inmates into thinking he’s been incarcertated for 19 years as a convicted murderer.
Cell 211 is one of the best foreign movies (Spanish to be precise) I’ve seen in quite some time. The concept is great and the movie manages to stay grounded and believable for the most part (more on this later). It’s really carried by the two man actors Alberto Ammann (Oliver) and Luis Tosar (Malamadre, the leader of the prison riot) who are both fantastic. They have great on screen chemistry, their conversations are always great. It’s a weird game of cat and mouse as Malamadre doesn’t really know about everything he’s dealing with. It’s a really well made and paced movie. It looks great, the pacing is terrific, and the story has many interesting and unexpected turns to keep everything sharp and entertaining.
It’s not a prison break movie, it’s more of a political bend kind of picture. There are ETA prisoners (Basque terrorists) being held in the facility who are basically a political time bomb. Their lives are worth a lot more than any of the other prisoners, so these guys basically have political hostages to use as leverage (or a quick death if anything happens to them). With lives across borders also at stake, Oliver has to work even more carefully to keep the peace and get out alive.
It’s not a perfect movie though. While Malamadre is a terrific character, he’s presented a little too softly. He’s the leader of the prison block, but you never really see why. Sure he threatens people left and right, but everyone around him jumps to his every whim. This is slightly countered by some of his lieutenants pulling string behind his back, but Malamadre is way too trusting for the kind of person and position he’s in. He becomes fast friends with Oliver who was never seen or heard of by these guys until the riot starts. Oliver makes many bold moves for a new guy with “one murder” as a wrap sheet. Most of the guys in these block are complete nutters who wouldn’t be intimidated by that in the least. Malamadre does threaten Oliver once, but the guy pretty much gets to be suspicious as much as he pleases.
That said, I really liked Cell 211. A great, thrilling movie that I highly recommend. The only thing that would hold someone back from watching this is hating to read English subtitles. Aside from that, go all in.