Prison 77

Prison 77 (Spanish: Modelo 77)^[1] is a 2022 Spanish historical thriller drama film directed by Alberto Rodríguez from a screenplay co-written with Rafael Cobos which stars Miguel Herrán and Javier Gutiérrez.^[2]

Prison 77
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	Modelo 77
Directed by	Alberto Rodríguez
Written by	Rafael Cobos Alberto Rodríguez
Starring	Miguel Herrán Javier Gutiérrez Jesús Carroza Catalina Sopelana Xavi Sáez Fernando Tejero
Cinematography	Álex Catalán
Edited by	José M. G. Moyano
Music by	Julio de la Rosa
Production companies	Movistar Plus+ Atípica Films
Distributed by	Buena Vista International
Release dates	16 September 2022 (2022-09-16) (Zinemaldia) 23 September 2022 (2022-09-23) (Spain)
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish
Box office	€2.1 million

Set in the late 1970s in Barcelona's Modelo Prison, the plot consists of a critical revision of the so-called Transition in Spain, focusing on the plight of inmates imprisoned on common charges claiming for an amnesty that, unlike the case of fellow political prisoners, never came to pass.

The film opened the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 16 September 2022, to be released theatrically in Spain a week later.

It earned 16 nominations at the 37th Goya Awards, winning in five technical categories.

Plot

Taking place from 1976 to 1978,^[3] during the so-called Transition, the plot is inspired by the real attempted prison break from Barcelona's Cárcel Modelo attempted by 45 inmates in 1978, after a rebellion led by the Coordinadora de presos en lucha (COPEL).^[4] The fiction follows two of the prisoners, José Pino and Manuel, an aged inmate who has passed through several prisons and a young accounting assistant who has just entered the prison, respectively.^[5]

Cast

• Miguel Herrán as Manuel^[5]
• Javier Gutiérrez as José Pino^[5]
• Jesús Carroza as El Negro^[3]
• Fernando Tejero as Marbella^[6]
• Catalina Sopelana as Lucía^[3]
• Xavi Sáez as Boni^[7]
• Alfonso Lara [es] as El Demócrata^[7]
• Polo Camino as Rubí^[7]
• Víctor Castilla as Rompetechos^[7]
• Iñigo Aranburu [eu] as Andrés^[7]
• Javier Lago as Domingo^[7]
• Iñigo de la Iglesia [eu] as Agustín^[7]
• Javier Beltrán as Arnau Solsona^[7]

Production

The building of the old Modelo Prison was a prime shooting location.^[8]

The screenplay was co-written by the director Alberto Rodríguez alongside his customary scribe Rafael Cobos.^[9] The film is a Movistar Plus+ and Atípica Films production.^[10] The crew featured other recurring Alberto Rodríguez' collaborators such as Álex Catalán (cinematographer), Pepe Domínguez del Olmo (art director), José G. Moyano [ca] (editing) and Julio de la Rosa [es] (composer).^[9]

Filming started in Barcelona on 2 August 2021, using the actual Model Prison as shooting location.^[11][8] The first phase of filming was completed in late August 2021.^[9] Production then moved for the second and final phase to the province of Seville, wrapping on 4 October 2021.^[9][12]

Release

Prison 77 screened out of competition as the opening film of the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 16 September 2022.^[6][13] Distributed by Buena Vista International, the film was theatrically released in Spain on 23 September 2022.^[9] It had an in-year gross of €2.1 million.^[14] It will later be released on Movistar Plus+.^[9] It also made it to the 'World Cinema' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival.^[15] The film was invited to the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival (screening on 18 December 2022)^[16] as well as to the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala.^[17] TelevisaUnivision obtained rights to the film in Mexico, the United States, and Latin America, with a streaming debut on Vix+ scheduled for 22 March 2023.^[18]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 7 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10.^[19]

Andrea G. Bermejo of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, concluding that some of the best performances of the year are present in the film, with the entire cast being "in deep communion with the story they want to tell".^[20]

Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas rated it with 80 out of 100 points ("very good"), deeming the film to be "respectful of the harsh reality it portrays and at the same time [it] manages to take the story out of the corset of prison dramas".^[21]

Àlex Montoya of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars praising the "rigor and critical thinking at the service of entertainment, or vice versa. And the cast. All of it".^[22]

Fionnuala Halligan of ScreenDaily considered that the film features a Hunger-like depiction of "horrible injustice", displaying "a striking camera-work and fantastic costuming [that] can only hold the eye for so long as beating follows beating".^[3]

Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2022:

• 4th — Cadena SER (Elio Castro)^[23]
• 6th — El Español ('Series&más' critics)^[24]
• 8th — Cadena SER ('El cine en la SER' critics)^[23]
• 8th — Cadena SER (Pepa Blanes [es])^[23]
• 10th — El Cultural (Begoña Donat)^[25]
• 10th — El Cultural (Juan Sardá)^[25]

Accolades

Esther Ballesteros and Ana Rubio holding their Goya Awards for Best Special Effects in 2023

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2022	28th Forqué Awards	Best Film		Nominated	[26][27]
		Best Film Actor	Miguel Herrán	Nominated
2023	10th Feroz Awards	Best Drama Film		Nominated	[28]
		Best Actor in a Film	Miguel Herrán	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Film	Jesús Carroza	Nominated
		Best Soundtrack	Julio de la Rosa	Nominated
		Best Trailer	Aitor Tapia	Nominated
	2nd Carmen Awards	Best Film		Won	[29][30]
		Best Director	Alberto Rodríguez	Won
		Best Original Screenplay	Rafael Cobos, Alberto Rodríguez	Won
		Best Actor	Miguel Herrán	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Fernando Tejero	Nominated
			Jesús Carroza	Won
		Best Editing	José M. G. Moyano	Won
		Best Art Direction	Pepe Domínguez del Olmo	Won
		Best Cinematography	Álex Catalán	Won
		Best Production Supervision	Manuela Ocón Aburto	Won
		Best Original Score	Julio de la Rosa	Won
		Best Costume Design	Fernando García	Won
		Best Makeup and Hairstyles	Yolanda Piña, Félix Terreno	Won
		Best Sound	Dani de Zayas, Miguel Huete, Valeria Arcieri	Won
	78th CEC Medals	Best Film		Nominated	[31][32]
		Best Actor	Javier Gutiérrez	Nominated
			Miguel Herrán	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Alberto Rodríguez, Rafael Cobos	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Álex Catalán	Nominated
		Best Editing	José M.G. Moyano	Nominated
		Best Music	Julio de la Rosa	Nominated
	37th Goya Awards	Best Film		Nominated	[33][34]
	Best Director	Alberto Rodríguez	Nominated
	Best Original Screenplay	Alberto Rodríguez, Rafael Cobos	Nominated
	Best Actor	Miguel Herrán	Nominated
		Javier Gutiérrez	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actor	Fernando Tejero	Nominated
		Jesús Carroza	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Álex Catalán	Nominated
	Best Editing	José M. G. Moyano	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Julio de la Rosa	Nominated
	Best Sound	Daniel de Zayas, Miguel Huete, Pelayo Gutiérrez, Valeria Arcieri	Nominated
	Best Art Direction	Pepe Domínguez del Olmo	Won
	Best Costume Design	Fernando García	Won
	Best Makeup and Hairstyles	Yolanda Piña, Félix Terrero	Won
	Best Special Effects	Esther Ballesteros, Ana Rubio	Won
	Best Production Supervision	Manuela Ocón Aburto	Won
	31st Actors and Actresses Union Awards	Best Film Actor in a Leading Role	Javier Gutiérrez	Nominated	[35]
			Miguel Herrán	Nominated
		Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role	Fernando Tejero	Nominated
	10th Platino Awards	Best Film Editing	José M. G. Moyano	Nominated	[36]
		Best Art Direction	Pepe Domínguez del Olmo	Nominated

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2022

References

1. Mayorga, Emilio; Lang, Jamie (11 February 2022). "Key Spanish Titles at the EFM". Variety.
2. Torres, Celia (19 September 2021). "'Modelo 77': la película carcelaria que narra la fuga que revolucionó la Barcelona de la Transición". El Español.
3. Halligan, Fionnuala (16 September 2022). "'Prison 77': San Sebastian Review". ScreenDaily.
4. Figueras, Andrea (22 August 2021). "La gran fuga de La Modelo que no pudo ser, al cine". El País.
5. Rus, Óscar (30 September 2021). "'Modelo 77', un examen a la Transición española desde los calabozos". abcplay. ABC.
6. Arribas, Alicia G. (16 September 2022). "'Modelo 77', la prisión como metáfora de la Transición". Diario de Sevilla.
7. ""Modelo 77" completa su rodaje en Sevilla: conoce al reparto completo de la película que encabeza Miguel Herrán y Javier Gutiérrez". VemosTV. 2 September 2021.
8. Hevia, Elena (21 August 2021). "Regreso a la infame cárcel Modelo de 1977". El Periódico.
9. "Finaliza la segunda fase del rodaje de 'Modelo 77', la nueva película de Alberto Rodríguez". Audiovisual451. 4 October 2021.
10. "Alberto Rodríguez inaugurará el Festival de Cine de San Sebastián con 'Modelo 77'". eldiario.es. 7 July 2022.
11. Herrero, Victoria (7 September 2021). "Alberto Rodríguez rueda su nueva película 'Modelo 77'". Crónica Global. El Español.
12. "El director Alberto Rodríguez acaba el rodaje de la película 'Modelo 77' en La Model de Barcelona". Alerta. 4 October 2021.
13. Ravindran, Manori (7 July 2022). "San Sebastian Sets Opening Film With 'Modelo 77,' Starring 'Money Heist' Star Miguel Herrán". Variety.
14. "Una recuperación más lenta de lo esperado en 2022". Audiovisual451. 7 February 2023.
15. "Prison 77". Busan International Film Festival. September 7, 2022. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
16. "Cinema International: Modelo 77 (Prison 77)". Kolkata International Film Festival. December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
17. Praveen, S.R (14 December 2022). "IFFK 2022: 'Prison 77' and 'Lord of the Ants' chronicle pushbacks against unjust laws". The Hindu.
18. "ViX and ViX+ Programming March 2023". TelevisaUnivision. 1 March 2023.
19. "Prison 77". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
20. Bermejo, Andrea G. (22 September 2022). "Crítica de 'Modelo 77'". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
21. Hernández Luján, Raquel (19 September 2022). "Crítica de Modelo 77, audaz combinación de drama carcelario, crónica de nuestro pasado reciente y thriller de evasión". HobbyConsolas.
22. Montoya, Àlex (22 September 2022). "Crítica de 'Modelo 77', Alberto Rodríguez nos mete en la cárcel". Fotogramas.
23. Blanes, P; Romero, J.; Castro, E. (23 December 2022). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2022 en un año espectacular para nuestro cine". Cadena SER.
24. Mantilla, Daniel (11 December 2022). "Las 10 mejores películas españolas de 2022". Series & Más – via El Español.
25. "Cine: las votaciones de nuestros críticos 2022". El Cultural. 20 December 2022 – via El Español.
26. "Alcarràs', 'Cinco lobitos', 'As bestas' y 'Modelo 77', finalistas en los Premios Forqué". rtve.es. 7 November 2022.
27. "'As bestas' triunfa en los Forqué y pone al rojo vivo la lucha por los Goya". rtve.es. 17 December 2022.
28. Gualda, Lucía (29 January 2023). "Premios Feroz, en directo: los premiados a mejor película, mejor serie y mejor actriz y actor protagonistas". Vanitatis – via El Confidencial.
29. Martínez, Evaristo (14 December 2022). "'Controverso' opta a dos Carmen, que anuncian sus candidatos desde Almería". La Voz de Almería.
30. Martínez, Evaristo (5 February 2023). "'Modelo 77' impone su ley en los Carmen del Cine Andaluz entregados en Almería". La Voz de Almería.
31. "'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos', las más nominadas a las Medallas CEC". Cine con Ñ. 15 December 2022.
32. Sánchez Sequera, Marcos (7 February 2023). "'As bestas' brilla en los Premios del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos (CEC)". Audiovisual451.
33. "'As bestas' es la favorita de los Premios Goya del relevo generacional: listado de nominaciones". Cinemanía. 1 December 2022 – via 20minutos.es.
34. Hopewell, John; Sandoval, Pablo (11 February 2023). "Rodrigo Sorogoyen's 'The Beasts' Sweeps Spain's Goya Awards". Variety.
35. Aller, María (14 March 2023). "Premios Unión de Actores 2023: 'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos', las películas más premiadas". Fotogramas.
36. "Premios Platino 2023: palmarés con todos los ganadores". Cinemanía. 22 April 2023 – via 20minutos.es.