Number 622 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Spanish prison film Cell 211.
Juan 'Calzones' Oliver (Alberto Ammann) is a prison guard beginning work on the day a riot breaks out led by fearsome prisoner Malamadre (Luis Tosar.) To survive, Juan pretends he is one of the prisoners.
Cell 211 stormed the 2010 Goya Awards (Spain's version of the Oscars.) It was nominated for fifteen awards and won eight including Best Film, Actor for Luis Tosar and Best New Actor for Alberrto Ammann.
It was a good film although I'm not sure it was Best Film material. It wasn't the most subtle of films nor was it the most realistic. Obviously I've never been to prison before; my knowledge of it is based on what I've seen on TV and in the films, so it might not be the most accurate. From what I've seen, prison has always appeared to be a tribal place. There are different gangs of different ethnicities. Thus I found it unbelievable that a whole prison would unite behind the one leader of Malamadre. Rather it would be different factions who would work together under different leaders.
All the prisoners under Malamadre got on too well to be entirely realistic either. They're united in their opposition toward the prison system - however, in reality, I think there would be a lot more petty squabbling between the prisoners.
The nature of prison dramas means that the prisoners can sometimes be a bit one-note. Sure Malamadre was scary, brutal and charismatic, but that's all he was. He was missing the necessary depth to make Luis Tosar be truly deserving of the Best Actor Goya.
I was far more impressed with Alberto Ammann who really ran the whole gamut of emotion which made his character more believable. No wonder he won the Best Newcomer Goya award and then went onto to wow international audiences as the charismatic and terrifying narco-trafficker Pacho in Narcos.
Cell 211 wasn't a bad film. It also wasn't particularly believable or deep either.
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