Condition Red (1995)

Director:

Mika Kaurismäki

Writer:

Andre Degas (writer)

Release Date:

8 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Prison guard falls in love with inmate. She wants him to let her escape. |

Plot Keywords:

Women's Prison | Female Nudity | Independent Film

Cast

James Russo	...	Dan Cappelli
Cynda Williams	...	Gidell Ryan
Paul Calderon	...	Angel Delgado
Victor Argo	...	Victor Klein
Jonathan Shaw	...	Tatooed Inmate
Verrone Romeoletti	...	Malone
Cedric Turner	...	Inmate
Matthew Styles	...	Effeminate Inmate
Richard Boes	...	Boyce
Andre Degas	...	Bishop
John Ashton	...	Deputy Warden
Ana Ortiz	...	C Block Inmate
Amanda Foster	...	Blondie
Donna Ryan	...	Bully Inmate
Monique Cintron	...	Melita

Also Known As:

Beyond the Law (International: English title) (working title)
Condition Red - hälytystila (Finland)
Draußen lauert der Tod (Germany)
Lain tavoittamattomissa (Finland) (working title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Finland | USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Marianna Films

Mediocre yet endearing.

Dan Capelli (James Russo) is a prison guard with a major attitude problem. After repeatedly getting too violent with inmates, he is temporarily transferred to duty in a women's prison. There, he meets Gidell (Cynda Williams), a stressed out inmate who initially just tries to make small talk with him. Dan tries to maintain detached from Gidell despite how he may really feel, but when Gidell's boyfriend Angel (James Calderon) comes into the picture, things seem to change.

This is a strange movie. Independent films have this strange effect on me - even if they aren't too good, if they're character driven little plots, I get sucked in no matter what. From a technical sense, this film isn't that great. It's a character driven story with underdeveloped characters, and a movie with no plot that still manages to have plot holes. But, I couldn't help it. There was something about it's low budget-ness that I liked. Maybe it was knowing that this was such a small film that I was seeing something perhaps only a handful of other people had ever seen.

James Calderon really changed for this role. I'm pretty sure he's Puerto Rican, but he looked African-American in this film. Strange what makeup can do. He and Victor Argo are too good actors who were underused in this movie. Cynda Williams is also good when she has stuff to work with, but like Kris Kristofferson, she's a performer who has had her fair share of characters that you just can't go anywhere with. But, James Russo's monologue at the end of this film makes up for all of that. Strange, how a good monologue can greatly improve a movie's quality.

This one is good to watch on the movie channels if you're up after midnight and no one else is home.