Cell 211

At last a film comes along which I like. "Cell 211" is a Spanish film about a prison, probably the toughest in Spain, full of the dregs of Spanish society. In the beginning along comes a nice guy who is about to become the new warden; the trouble is he arrives at the same time a riot breaks out. He is knocked out by a piece of falling masonry and the two guards with him put him in a cell, cell 211, for sakekeeping while they make a judicious and quick escape, knowing that if they stay they will be either taken as hostages or torn limb from limb by the mob of evil-eyed killers most of whom have nothing to lose, being lifers.
When he comes to his senses he realises he has to improvise and pretend to be a new prisoner. It works, after much humiliation and fear.
The film is gripping, tense and very violent; a man's ear is cut off, another is beaten to death, another has his throat cut.
On my way out a man said, speaking to an audience that wasn't there: "I've never seen anything like that, never, never."
He's right: you don't see many films like that these days that sort of grip you by the throat and take you on a journey of fear, fright, violence and some human warmth.
It took me back to "Brute Force" with Burt Lancaster, made in the early fifties. That too was an exceedingly violent film. But neither were films in which violence was there for its own sake, it was an essential part of the film's plot and theme. In both cases it was saying "here are men incarcerated in a sub-human institution with no hope except escape (in the Holywood film) or (a better deal on human rights) in this film.
Which made me think that Spanish prisons do not have the same schemes of rehabitulation that other European prisons have. Or conditions for those who have no hope of improvement in their well-being.
I have read recently that Norway is far ahead of most other European countries in their rehabitulation schemes - I don't think we need refer to any of the prisons in the Arab countries in comparision - they are hell holes it seems.
In Norway only 20% of released criminals go on to carry out further cries. In this country the percentage is 75%. Having seen "Cell 211" I guess the number must be nearer 90%.
Good film, strong message.