The prison genre, known in the trade as "the Big House movie" from the title of a seminal film of 1930, has spread from Hollywood around the world. This excellent Spanish picture has all the traditional ingredients: the fair but weak governor, the contrasted good and bad warders, the charismatic convict leader (knockout performance from Luis Tosar, famously menacing in Michael Mann's Miami Vice), the old lag, the slimy informer, the destructive riot, and the familiar message that the trouble is due to overcrowding, penny-pinching and the lack of either creative work or serious attempts at rehabilitation. The clever twist here (a variation on the opening of the Robert Redford film Brubaker) is that the sympathetic new warder, the 30-year-old Juan Oliver, is accidentally stranded inside during a preliminary tour of the premises when the riot occurs and has to pretend to be a hard-as-nails murderer in order to survive a lynching.
- 7/16/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Opening in the UK this Friday, the mutiple-Goya-award-winning Spanish feature Cell 211 is not your typical prison riot film. It makes Cool-Hand Luke look like Driving Miss Daisy, and works not only as a gritty action film, but social realism as well. Director Daniel Monzón co-wrote the script with Jorge Guerricaechevarría (frequent collaborator with Álex de la Iglesia) as an adaptation from the novel by Francisco Pérez Gandul. It tells the story of Juan Oliver, an ordinary man caught up in not only an extraordinary situation, but a deadly one, and it is a vice that never gives its audience a moment to think, like its main character. Juan (Alberto Ammann) is starting work as a prison guard; in an effort to impress his new...
- 7/14/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
From its wincingly grisly opening image of a prison inmate slitting his wrists, Cell 211 is a savagely unforgiving prison drama. Though we’ve seen this sort of story time and again in everything from The Shawshank Redemption to Prison Break, this Spanish thriller – the winner of 8 Goya awards in its native country – earns through its raw brutality and unapologetic melodrama more favourable comparisons to HBO’s hit drama Oz.
We can sense the air of resignation early on in Cell 211, as newbie prison officer Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) is toured around his place of work by a few world-weary colleagues. How much can officers really contribute to correcting these people, or will their authority simply reinforce the unsavoury behaviour? It is a question, an ever current one, which the film asks in its opening minutes, and it echoes throughout, right up to the grim final frames.
From its wincingly grisly opening image of a prison inmate slitting his wrists, Cell 211 is a savagely unforgiving prison drama. Though we’ve seen this sort of story time and again in everything from The Shawshank Redemption to Prison Break, this Spanish thriller – the winner of 8 Goya awards in its native country – earns through its raw brutality and unapologetic melodrama more favourable comparisons to HBO’s hit drama Oz.
We can sense the air of resignation early on in Cell 211, as newbie prison officer Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) is toured around his place of work by a few world-weary colleagues. How much can officers really contribute to correcting these people, or will their authority simply reinforce the unsavoury behaviour? It is a question, an ever current one, which the film asks in its opening minutes, and it echoes throughout, right up to the grim final frames.
- 7/14/2011
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
Cell 211, Spanish director Daniel Monzon’s contribution to the prison sub-genre, roars out of the blocks like a lean action film, but ultimately bogs down under the weight of its ambitions and numerous plot twists. A multiple award-winner in its homeland, the film features a strong ensemble cast who breathe life into stock characters, and it’s their performances which are the main reason to keep watching.
Within minutes of beginning his tour of the prison where he is to begin working as a guard the following day, Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) is struck on the head by falling debris: it’s not an accident. The experienced guards who are escorting him place him in an empty cell rather than carrying him to the infirmary, a decision which is to have fateful consequences when an inmate riot immediately erupts and they are forced to flee for their safety, leaving Juan to fend for himself.
Within minutes of beginning his tour of the prison where he is to begin working as a guard the following day, Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) is struck on the head by falling debris: it’s not an accident. The experienced guards who are escorting him place him in an empty cell rather than carrying him to the infirmary, a decision which is to have fateful consequences when an inmate riot immediately erupts and they are forced to flee for their safety, leaving Juan to fend for himself.
- 7/6/2011
- by Ian Gilchrist
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"35 Shots of Rum". Two couples live across the hall in the same Paris apartment building. Neither couple is "together." Gabrielle and Noe have the vibes of roommates, but the way Lionel and Josephine love one another, it's a small shock when she calls him "papa." Lionel (Alex Descas) is a train engineer. Jo (Mati Diop) works in a music store. Gabrielle (Nicole Dogue) drives her own taxi. Noe (Gregoire Colin) claims only his much-loved cat is preventing him from moving to Brazil.
The four people are in and out of both apartments so readily, we sense they're a virtual family. One night they head out together in Gabrielle's taxi for a concert. The taxi breaks down, it rains, they shelter in a Jamaican cafe, there's good music on the juke box, they dance with one another. During the dancing and kidding around, it becomes clear to them, and to us,...
The four people are in and out of both apartments so readily, we sense they're a virtual family. One night they head out together in Gabrielle's taxi for a concert. The taxi breaks down, it rains, they shelter in a Jamaican cafe, there's good music on the juke box, they dance with one another. During the dancing and kidding around, it becomes clear to them, and to us,...
- 1/2/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
CBS Films is currently in negotiations to acquire the remake rights to Daniel Monzon's Spanish-language film Celda 211. The American remake of the film will be called Cell 211. Paul Haggis (Crash) is also in talks to write the script with and may also end up directing the film. He will produce with Hwy 61 Films partner Michael Nozik.
I haven't seen the original film yet but it looks really good! I'm going to have to check it out!
The original film was described as follows:
Juan Oliver is about to become a prison guard. Trying to make a good impression, he reports for work one day early. Two colleagues show him around the old prison. All of a sudden, some plaster falls from the ceiling and hits Juan, who passes out. The guards take him into cell 211, which is empty, to try and revive him. But a riot breaks out at the high security area,...
I haven't seen the original film yet but it looks really good! I'm going to have to check it out!
The original film was described as follows:
Juan Oliver is about to become a prison guard. Trying to make a good impression, he reports for work one day early. Two colleagues show him around the old prison. All of a sudden, some plaster falls from the ceiling and hits Juan, who passes out. The guards take him into cell 211, which is empty, to try and revive him. But a riot breaks out at the high security area,...
- 10/28/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
CBS Films is acquiring remake rights to Daniel Monzon's Spanish-language film Celda 211 ("Cell 211"), reports Deadline . Paul Haggis is in talks to write the script with an eye to direct. He will produce with Hwy 61 Films partner Michael Nozik. The original film was described as follows: Juan Oliver is about to become a prison guard. Trying to make a good impression, he reports for work one day early. Two colleagues show him around the old prison. All of a sudden, some plaster falls from the ceiling and hits Juan, who passes out. The guards take him into cell 211, which is empty, to try and revive him. But a riot breaks out at the high security area, the one that houses the most dangerous inmates. Juan's colleagues run away, leaving him stranded. When he wakes up...
- 10/28/2010
- Comingsoon.net
I had an awesome time at last year's Independent Film Festival of Boston, and this year, the festival promises to be even more exciting, with tons of indie directors and actors showing up to chill in the Bay State. The festival will quickly upon us (it begins this Wednesday), so if you're in Boston or even New England, I'd urge you to check it out. After the jump, some of the movies I'm most looking forward to this year. [Note that I already saw a bunch of the movies that will be playing here when I was at Sundance this year; they won't show up on this list, but you can read our coverage of Sundance here]. Cell 211 - "In this intense, Goya Award-winning drama, Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann), who is eager to begin at his new post as a prison guard, arrives at the facility a day ...
- 4/17/2010
- by David Chen
- Slash Film
Juan Oliver, Luis Tosar in Cell 211 (top); Rachel Weisz in Agora (middle, upper); Lola Dueñas, Pablo Pineda in Me Too (middle, lower); Penélope Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces (bottom) Daniel Monzón’s Celda 211 / Cell 211, a drama set during a prison riot, was the big winner at the 2010 Goya Awards ceremony held in Madrid on Sunday. Cell 211 won eight Goyas, including best film, best director, best actor (Luis Tosar), best supporting actress (Marta Etura), and best adapted screenplay (Monzón and Jorge Guerricaechevarría). The Goyas’ runner-up was Alejandro Amenábar’s historical drama and box-office smash Agora, starring Rachel Weisz, which received seven trophies, including best original screenplay for eight-time winner Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The best actress winner [...]...
- 2/15/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.