I liked this movie, but it made me reflect on how crazy and wrong the prison system is, even in a place like Denmark. I know many disgree, but I think that prison should be somewhere you go to become a better person, to find back to who you really are. Not a place to hae your soul tormented and your spirit crushed. This movie manages to show a world where you either do what it takes to survive, or you are destroyed. Some times you do what it takes, but you are unlucky or someone tells a secret to the wrong person, and you are still destroyed. In between all the violent "masculinity" and bullying, there are moments of humanity, like the friendship between Rune and Rashid and the seeming care the men have for a couple of birds. I liked the fact that we don't get to know too much about how Rune ended up in prison. He could be any regular guy, and that is the whole point.

Rune Pedersen is a new inmate in a tough Danish prison serving a two-year sentence. He's threatened by the brutal inmates and the harsh guards. He becomes the lowest member of the white gang. He works out a way to smuggle into the prison with the help of Muslim Rashid. He starts to get more luxury from his gang. Then he gets squeezed by the ruthless Bazhir.It's another tough prison movie of drugs, brutality, and racial division from Europe. It is heartless, ugly, and relentless. There is a change in protagonist from Rune to Rashid in the last act. It's a place where brutality works and the monsters rule.

Rune, a young criminal serving time, is transferred to a new prison where he must use his wits in order to survive. Not long after entering the facility, Rune is viewed as a good subject to bully by the most experienced criminals in his new home. Rune establishes himself as a new force after attacking an Albanian inmate by order of The Mason, one of the prominent inmates, who seems to control what is going on inside.Meeting Rashid, another man at the prison, gives Rune an ally that will stay true to him. Devising a plan to smuggle drugs, brings him to the attention of Mason's superior, the powerful Carsten. It will be only a question of time before Rune is found out. The atmosphere of "R" is bleak, at best. Comparisons to Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" comes to mind since both premises deal with behind the scenes life at a high security jail where men are thrown together and must be strong to survive. This Danish entry is co-directed by Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer. The strength of the film lies in the ensemble playing the directors got from the strong cast they amassed. It is not a film for those weak at heart, prison life being what it is, it shows in vivid detail what goes on behind bars, when criminals must survive, one way, or another.Johan Philip Asbaek, who plays Rune, makes a great impression in the way he approaches the role. Dulfil Al-Jabouri is seen as Rashid, the only friend Rune finds in that milieu. The supporting cast is excellent, mainly Omar Shargawi and Roland Moller. The oppressive atmosphere of the prison is capture in vivid detail by the cinematographer, Magnus Northenhof Jonck whose gritty photography is one of the real assets of the film.

Worst movie, i have seen in a long time.This film about Horsens Stateprison seems unimportant and the problems the film displays are shallow. The plot is boring and seen before. But worst of all the film leaves you with one question! and that is: have I just wasted 1 hour and 35 minuts of my life on nothing.It seems like the only thing a movie needs to get good reviews these days, is for the film to end badly, its almost like nobody likes happy endings these days, with that said these movie doesn't even leave you with a higher meaning, there is no need to analyse its just a plain boring movie about absolute nothing else but to tell how hard it is to be in prison. YAWN!!!