Monday 4 July
Midnight Express
9:25pm, SBS2
MA15+
USA, 1978
Genre: Drama
Language: English, Maltese, Turkish
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Brad Davis, Randy Quaid, John Hurt
What's it about?
In 1970, while boarding an international flight out of Istanbul, American Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle two kilograms of hashish out of the country, the drugs strapped to his body. He's told he'll be released if he cooperates with authorities to identify the person who sold him the hashish. Billy's troubles really begin when he makes a run for it and is recaptured, sentenced to thirty years in Turkish prison. Oliver Stone won an Oscar for his screenplay.
Cell 211
11:40pm, SBS 2
MA15+Spain, 2010
Genre: Drama
Language: Spanish
Director: Daniel Monzon
Starring: Antonio Resines, Alberto Ammann, Luis Tosar
What's it about?
A new prison guard (Alberto Ammann) gets a baptism of fire on his first day, when the inmates riot and take over the prison. Abandoned by his colleagues, he is forced to swap sides and pose as a new prisoner in order to survive, but the situation deteriorates when the escalating violence turns political.
[link title="Cell 211 Review" url="node/5073"]
Monday 11 July
Starred Up
9:25pm, SBS 2
MA15+United Kingdom, 2013
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: David Mackenzie
Starring: Rupert Friend, Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn
What's it about?
Eric (Jack O'Connell) is a troubled and explosively violent teenager who has just been transferred to an adult prison. There he comes across his absentee dad Neville (Ben Mendelsohn).
[link title="Starred Up Review " url="node/17890"]
R
11:25pm, SBS 2
MA15+Denmark, 2010
Genre: Drama, Crime
Language: Danish
Director: Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer
Starring: Pilou Asbæk, Dulfi Al-Jabouri, Roland Møller
What's it about?
The R of the title stands for the young protagonist, Rune, fearlessly played by Pilou Asbaek. Imprisoned for violent assault, he's a cocky, good-looking young man placed in the hardcore ward, where his survival depends on quickly learning the prison's parallel world of rules, honour and obligations.
Watch Pilou Asbaek movies at SBS On Demand
Monday 18 July
Convict
9:30pm, SBS 2
MA15+Australia, 2014
Genre: Drama, Crime
Language: English
Director: George Basha, David Field
Starring: David Field, George Basha, David Roberts
What's it about?
Ray finds himself serving two years for manslaughter by the same government he served and fought for. He is sent to a prison built by the original convicts. From the day that he arrives, he is given special attention. He is pushed mentally and physically. He has to learn how to navigate his way around the internal politics and turf wars that exist inside the prison just to survive.
[link title="Convict Review" url="node/13812"]
Bronson
11:25pm, SBS 2
MA15+United Kingdom, 2008
Genre: Drama, Crime, Biography
Language: English
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Tom Hardy, Matt King, Kelly Adams
What's it about?
In 1974, a hot-headed 19-year-old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to seven years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael Petersen, the boy, faded away and 'Charles Bronson', his superstar alter ego, took centre stage.
[link title="Bronson Review" url="node/4769"]
Monday 25 July
A Prophet
9:25pm, SBS 2
MA15+Italy, France, 2000
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Language: French, Arabic, Corsican
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Alaa Oumouzoune, Adel Bencherif
What's it about?
Condemned to six years in prison, 19-year-old Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) cannot read nor write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of 'missions' to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans.
[link title="A Prophet Review" url="node/4606"]
King of Devil's Island
12:20am, SBS 2
MNorway, 2010
Genre: Action, Drama
Language: Norwegian
Director: Marius Holst
Starring: Stellan Skarsgård, Trond Nilssen, Benjamin Helstad
What's it about?
A remote island in the Oslo fjord, the Bastoy Boys Home aims to reform badly behaved boys. When newcomer Erling (Benjamin Helstad) arrives and questions the authority of the abusive 'housefathers’, he finds support from his fellow inmates. Determined to both escape and reveal the institution’s corruption, Erling has to choose between himself and the friends he has won.
[link title="King of Devil's Island Review" url="node/5682"]
