Dad-to-be turns prison gangster. Father of the Year just got DARK.
The seemingly innocent Alexander Rothstein ends up in jail for drug trafficking. In fact, he bears the responsibility of providing for his newly pregnant girlfriend Julia and their future child. To make matters worse, he ends up sharing a cell with the dangerous Russian Viktor and the unstable Arab Khalil. To fulfill his duties as a father and escape the dangers of prison, Alex needs money - a lot of money. His desperation drives him into the arms of the Kurdish gangster boss Mazlum, also known as the Dutchman, and back to his friend from drug therapy, Cem. Together, they weave the threads of an organization that casts its nets even beyond the prison walls, but at the height of euphoria, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in it. He is left with only two options: Succumb to the conspiracy of intrigue and betrayal or become a monster himself.
Acting
Von Jascheroff's desperate eyes carry 140 minutes of dread.
Direction
Engizek turns concrete walls into psychological torture chambers.
Director
Ekrem Engizek
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Engizek continues Germany's post-'4 Blocks' fascination with ethnically-coded prison hierarchies, here centering Kurdish-German gangster culture rarely depicted in mainstream cinema.
The title's German ambiguity—'Gefängnis' meaning both prison and imprisonment—mirrors how Alex's outside life was already a trap before the cell door closed.
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