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Set after the Francoist Regime (1939-1975) , in 1977 . In spite of General Franco died in November, 1975 concluding the Francoist Regime to establish a new democracy from the dictatorship , the penitentiary system inside prison was preserved for a long time . The first democratic government in 40 years provided an amnesty only for the political immates , in fact all prisoners considered opposites to the Franquism were pardoned , but not to the common ones , then the real-life ¨Coordinadora de Presos en Lucha¨ (COPEL) formed by young advocates at law and inmates join forces to fight for their rights . In 1977 Barcelona Modelo Penitentiary Facility , a young accountant , Manuel (Miguel Herrán), goes to prison awaiting trial for embezzlement with a possible 20 years sentence. At the beginning he attempts to reveal the happened inside the jail by denouncing violent and wrong events , but he was quickly suffocated , then he joins the group of prisoners demanding amnesty with subsequent mutiny and riots and he becomes a main coordinator of the the Prisoners in Fight . Along the way, he befriends a mysterious and reluctant inmate , Pino (Javier Gutiérrez).

Thrilling and intriguing Spanish Prison movie mostly located into a prison . With an excellent cast , including sensational acting from the magnificent starring Miguel Herrán , despite his youthful he gives a splendid lesson in how he is able to withstand the weight of the flick , playing a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal , who did have no right to report it to the authorities , suffering an emotional brutalization who causes an explosion of violence and , of course , a perfect Javier Gutiérrez who steals the show as a peaceful prisoner who eventually fights for the wished freedom . Despite the story of the main roles are fictious , it is inspired on real facts , resulting to be a moving and intense flick picture that packs thriller , tension , straightforward intrigue , sober drama , action , violence and denounce about the repressive laws existent in the Franquism as the real-life "Law of Vagrants and Thugs¨ or ¨Ley de Vagos y Maleantes" depicted in the picture not only served to give the police reasons to arrest people, but guarantee that they were kept in prison once arrested . If the first part deals with the atrocities , cruelty and excessive use of force by the guards , enjoying impunity for committing any act of violence and torture against the prisoners , in ¨Alan Parker's Midnight Express¨ style , along with ¨Daniel Monzón´s Cell 211¨ , after concerning friendship between the two protagonists and their fight for justice and subsequent attempt to getaway . The film contains thrills , exciting scenes and chills and it turns out to be quite entertaining because being laborious and intriguing , adding political happenings in which inmates carry out strong efforts to ask to the government general amnesty , humanization of of the hard conditions of the prisons and purging of tortures , as well as a reform of prison laws and of the sadist and corrupt wardens who use unthinkable brutality . In the picture there's violence , drama , tension and a little bit of action in the final escape. The story contains a statement about inmate's mistreating , despair and a strong criticism of the ruling class , unable to control a dangerous situation . Most part of the movie takes place into four walls of the jail involving and executing the preparatives for riots , their wanted amnesty and against the strict conditions demanded by the inmates . Highlighting the newcomer actor Miguel Herrán -of ¨La Casa de papel¨or ¨Money Heist¨- and excels a great player like Javier Gutiérrez , making a memorable work as the intelligent prisoner who in principle does not want problems , an interpretation without falling into the prison clichés . Furthermore , a top-notch support cast giving awesome performances , such as : Jesús Carroza , Fernando Tejero, Xavi Sáez , Catalina Sopelana, Mikel Losada, Javier Beltrán, Julián Valcárcel , among others .

Interesting and thrilling screenplay by Alberto Rodríguez himself , and Rafael Cobos , Alberto's usual writer , though with some regular stereotypes . Appropriate cinematography by cameraman Alex Catalán who photographs splendidly the cold and dark interiors from Model prison , being shot on the own location in La Model, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain . Adequate and atmospheric musical score by Julio de la Rosa , including a tense leitmotif . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Alberto Rodriguez , he undertakes a skill and riveting filmmaking with some sensationalist touch , though it is also intensely manipulative against prison guards . This is a perfectly realized and superbly crafted film from a multi-prized writer/filmmaker who has won several awards . This prestigious director has shot various successes , such as : ¨7 Virgins¨ , ¨El Traje¨ , ¨Factor Pilgrim¨, ¨The Man with Thousand Faces" or international title "Smoke & Mirrors" it won in San Sebastián International Film Festival 2016 : Feroz Zinemaldia Award to Alberto Rodríguez , Silver Seashell Best Actor : Eduard Fernández and Nominated Golden Seashell Best Film , and , of course , his greatest hit : ¨La Isla Minima¨or ¨Marshland¨ , Goya Award-winning director Alberto Rodríguez . Rating Model 77 (2022) : 7/10 , the latest from this great director is rated above average and well worth watching .

What a gem.

I found out about this movie while I was in a rabbit hole on Wikipedia. I'm sure glad I found it, and decided to watch it.

This movie is about people imprisoned during an era of extreme censorship and repression. (If they spoke out against Franco in anyway, they would be imprisoned.) Only, the regime went down and everyone is still locked up. They wanted to get amnesty for their crimes and fought for that. They also wanted to get treated better.

The main character lands in prison and is mistreated from the get go. He complains about the mistreatment and garners attention from the other inmates. Many of them can't read and enlist him to join the amnesty cause. He becomes the unofficial leader and faces a bunch obstacles inbetween.

It's a very interesting watch. The kind of movie that just keeps your eyes glued to the screen. Never a dull moment in this one.

The passionate acting from all parties, makes this a must watch. Everyone played their roles perfectly.

I highly recommend this one. Make sure you watch in the original language (Spain Spanish), makes a difference. (To me anyways)

This gets a LennyReviewz Score of: 8/10.

Modelo 77 not just fascinates but also targets at making the justice systems better. Movie's success was wholely dependent on performances by the cast and justice was done to this story of injustice by the careful performances by each cast member. Excellent visuals that demonstrated the chaos of incarceration. Great audio effects that fits right with the mood of each character. Character setup was excellent in discovering the imprisoned lives. Dialogues were perfect both deep and lighthearted. Perfect cinematography capturing the emotions. It's a unique and an interesting tale about redemption.

Spanish justice, police and prison system have never had a good reputation since 1000 a.d., they were rough in the 15th century, but even more inhumane during the franco era, and shortly thereafter. They are not clean and sober either today, but some civilian rights has come to be part of the prison system of the rayes espanoles.

This film shows a very grim image of the 70's prison warden hierarchy, a film that gives you ''the shawshank redemption'' feeling, a film that you may say are full of lost strains and plotholes in the story, but many prisoners where strained away and put into plotholes of oblivion...

its a very well produced film,youre never able to relax due to very nice acts by the front cast, the story never seem to bring justice or light of hope, leaving you fuming over the intense brutallity and consequent injustice, hoping that therell be an opening somewhere in this jail of hopelessness and corruption.

Im not so well into the factual story behind this production, therefore i cant give my bias to the whole truth, but some bitter pills mustve been swallowed over the years, and some retalliation mustve taken place.

So take your seats or sofa or whatever, this is trully a wonder of a spanish silverscreen masterpiece. A recommend from the grumpy old man.

The way the people who are thought to be the lowest, the criminals belonging to all the different levels worked together and showed solidarity towards the injustice of a system that sells itself as reformed was inspiring to watch. But even then it does show even with the amount of support they can get, it can still only go so far with the way the world works at certain times. Throughout the movie, I was very invested in the cause and not the characters themselves that much, so when the end became more about the personal aspects, it wasn't completely fulfilling to me. It almost felt like casting the Money Heist actor was because they wanted the audience to feel reminiscent at the end on some level, maybe. Nonetheless, a pretty great thriller, I saw this year.

Director Rodriguez has mastered the prison break movie in a new way with a revolutionary and brutal way that visually impressive and his detailing of every individual characters are the highlight that leads to a modern day cinema to a eye opener to Spanish film fraternity for future films... The camera work instantly strikes ur heart from the very first frame until the climax & the costumes are perfect to the core in bringing 70's Spanish flick live... Miguel hetram as Manuel has lived upto the character shows some matured performance that done at ease passing brutality and his arrogance in philosophy does make u crazy towards his character... The screenplay behind the formation of PRA was so convincingly powerful and the climax is unexpected ... Overall "PRISON 77"is not a just a movie but a soul of cinema that stays forever in every movie buffs heart.

Personally, I found it really interesting to learn stuff about the situation of common inmates during the period and this prisioner's association, but I think that, just like "Argentina 1985", it would have made a much better documentary than a feature film. I found it far too long and repetitive, and at times tedious. It would have been stronger had it been half an hour shorter. The guards also, are represented as an uniformly evil bunch and their stereotypical brutality would have been more suited to the likes of a Rambo kind of film, particularly considering that it claims to purport a real story.

... otherwise? No pun intended! I reckon some still don't know how good their life is - that they can't just be locked away. Even for petty crimes - if someone doesn't like how you look or what your political views are .. or just to save their own son. You pick your poison (not literally of course).

Prison dramas - if you've seen a few, you may be privvy to some cliches. But this movie is able to avoid most of them. Maybe the fact that it is based on true stories - on what actually happened (more or less) many years ago. The director, whom you may know from other things, is really on point here. The message is delivered quite powerful.

Even if you do not agree with some of the choices the main character does or takes ... well it does make sense. Not just for the movie, but for the character and his own moral compass and own ... well character! Again no pun intended.

A tough watch, especially when it does get violent, which happens occasionally ... with I assume real images from back in the day in the end credits. Also some events summarized right after the movie ends ...

The whole movie making was mind blowing. The actors were in appropriate costumes. The set & location making was perfect. Overall it's a masterpiece!

The study of the movie was so simple. The reason of the heroes suffocation was unknown, who is made the viewers more interested to know the story. The level namely "inspired by true events" capture the attraction of thriller viewers who specially like thriller movies.

The suffering of the hero alom with his friends are properly pictured. The hero lost everything from his life. Then the entry of the heroine made a small hope in the heart of the viewers.

And The story goes on...!

I'm Spaniard, so I was excited about this movie. I grew up in the 80's in a town close to Barcelona.

So, apparently the movie looks interesting and pedagogical to learn about the political transition in my country, from a dictatorship to Democracy.

To add, the view comes from one of the most famous prisons in Barcelona, La Modelo. But, sadly the result is just a formulaic, stereotypical movie. Overall, a wasted opportunity.

First, acting is correct. A bunch of usual great actors with a bland script.

Second, settings are great but repetitive. It looks like the budget was not enough.

Last, it does not add anything remarkable or new to a story that you can read in 30 minutes.

So, overall, not a great movie. Just 120 minutes of formulaic and sometimes boring story.