Celda 211(Daniel Monzón, 2009)

Cell 211 takes us straight into the outbreak of a riot in a Spanish prison, as a warden on his first day at the job is caught on the wrong side of the fence and forced to make up a criminal past to stay in one piece. It's a delicate balancing act between credible complicity with the prisoners and trying to transmit information about what's occurring inside to the prison authorities. In the meanwhile, the leader of the rioters takes him under his wing and an understanding between the two is formed as the idealistic newbie learns what conditions prevail inside the prison system.
Comment on the unproductive brutality of the status quo could easily have got too heavy-handed here, but Monzón seems to have realised that political campaigning about such glaring targets can make for an unhappy marriage with the thriller framework and the decision to focus on action and the relationship between the two leads is a prudent one. Less successful, however, is the incorporation of the complicating element that is the warden's pregnant wife on the outside, who flips for no other reason than plot requirements.
Nevertheless, there are more positives than negatives. As the lead, Alberto Ammann convinces as his character shifts from bravado to anger and despair, and the end comes as quite a shock too, with the director making the most of fairly stock ingredients.

6/10