The Inmate

This is a story that i was attracted to after renewing my subscription

to Netflix. I had been off for a while but was keep to find some

material that was not easy to come by. 

The stories told behind prison have become successful partly because of

projects like Prison Break. But you could argue that classics such as

Escape from Alkatraz or Papillon were probably trendsetters for this

genre. 

This one is set in Mexico with a facility that houses mainly former

gang members. Most of the information that we get from these shows

splits the traditional maximum security prison into racial group which

are further subdivided into gangs. There is a hierarchy that manages

these complex networks and that has its minions all the way out into

the streets of the capital of the world. With this infrastructure, drug

lords are able to run their cartels effectively from behind bars. 

This one is different though. The whole prison seems more like a tented

camp. Separated between five groups. The Nazis, The Union Group and The

Group that has the privilege of actually being housed in decent enough

dwellings in the prison run by an older man, the guards and then a

select community of effeminate men. At the top or at least in admin

there is the leadership core made up of the warden and his assistant

and a team of support staff which includes a Counselor/Human Rights

observer. 

Our hero is introduced onto the scene and has to navigate through this

maze of personalities. A few things stood out to me. I may not have

watched the series that run on one of the networks a while back but for

what others told me, the women were often at the heart of the power

structure of these crime families. You really have to look out for the

crucial role of two actors in this series. The Warden and Santito. The

warden comes across as conniving but somehow leaves you hoping that he

succeeds. He quotes from notable authors and poets, cheats, steals,

always looking for a great deal all this time while supported by his

loyal and attractive side kick. Santito on the other hand is a complex

mix of shattered and broken as well as intelligent. He is looking for

friendship but is no sucker. He is desperately trying to find approval

while at the same time seemingly in charge of his own faculties. He is

gentle while also being capable of harming those he encounters.      

There are lessons about leadership from each of those that are on top

of their respective ladders. Then there are lessons from those who are

leading without necessarily having a team at their side. 

Ignacio Serricchio as Lázaro Mendoza / Dante Pardo

Ana Claudia Talancón as Frida Villarreal

Flavio Medina as Jorge Peniche

Luis Felipe Tovar as Mariano Tavares

David Chocarro as Juan Pablo 'Santito'

Mariana Seoane as Roxana Castañeda

Guy Ecker as John Morris

Isabella Castillo as Linda Morris