Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) is a serious young man who reports a day early for his new job as a prison guard. We spend a little time with him at home with his wife, Elena (Marta Etura). She is pregnant. They are head over heels in love. They don’t have much money, but his new job will be a big help. As other guards are taking him on a tour of the prison, he is knocked unconscious in an accident. They carry him to a bunk in an empty cell, Cell 211, and are calling for help when a violent prison riot breaks out. Their lives are in danger, and they must leave him behind when they flee. He regains consciousness and hears what is going on outside. He doesn’t know why he’s been left behind - he probably doesn’t recall the falling debris that knocked him unconscious - but he knows his shoes, shoelaces and belt are fatal giveaways that he’s not a prisoner. And now we enter into real time with him, as he boldly walks into a public area and passes himself off as a new prisoner who was admitted only shortly before. The rioting prisoners are desperate. They’re led by a brutal strongman, a lifer with nothing to lose, named Malamadre (Luis Tosar). Juan reads the situation immediately and improvises. Instinctively, he takes the role of a man siding with his fellow prisoners. When he makes canny strategic suggestions, he seems to prove his worth.
Director:
Daniel Monzon
Year:
2009
Country:
Spain
Cast:
Alberto Ammann, Luis Tosar, Carlos Bardem
Classification:
18
Certification:
VL