DANIEL MONZON directs a hard-hitting prison drama, based on Celda 211, the novel by Francisco Perez Gandul.
Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) has landed a job as a prison guard and turns up a day early for a tour of the facility. During an inspection of the high-security cell-block, the inmates break free and a riot ensues. Juan is trapped in the melee and, thinking fast, poses as a newly-arrived prisoner, successfully pulling the wool over the eyes of top dog Malamadre (Luis Tosar).
One of Malamadre’s henchmen, Apache, isn’t convinced and uses a concealed telephone to ask a snitch on the outside to run a background check on Juan. Meanwhile, Juan’s pregnant wife races to the prison desperate for news of her husband. Inside the complex, hostage negotiator Ernesto Almansa attempts to restore calm before Malamadre discovers Juan’s true identity.
The winner of eight Spanish “Oscars”, this film twists and thrills in equal measure.
