MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Zonzon

Zonzon

1998 · 102 min

A claustrophobic, talky chamber piece that mixes bleak despair with uneasy humour, leaving you restless and drained.

Directed by
Laurent Bouhnik
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Starring
Pascal Greggory, Gaël Morel, Jamel Debbouze
Overview
In a French prison, three men are coming to terms with the emotional and physical torment which their incarceration brings them. Arnaud is serving a six-month sentence for drug smuggling; he protests his innocence and will do anything to secure an early release. Francky is a hardened criminal who has all but lost his wife and family and who seeks comfort in self-inflicted abuse. Kader is in prison for theft; he is the most philosophical of the three men, he is growing accustomed to prison life and seems to prefer it to the world outside.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Laurent Bouhnik
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Starring
Pascal Greggory, Gaël Morel, Jamel Debbouze
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • isolation
  • survival
  • identity
  • friendship
  • freedom
Places
  • prison
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • single location
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour4
Realism8
Romance1
Tension6
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

More like this

Titles like Zonzon

Movie

Prison 77

2022

A grim, slow-burning prison drama that immerses you in 1970s Spain, blending tension and melancholy with a fight for dignity.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and survival · ensemble

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • isolation
  • survival
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
125 min
Details
Prison 77Hidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Komplizinnen

1987

A fragmented, quietly harrowing immersion into prison life, where meaning emerges slowly from scattered moments and an unblinking gaze.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and survival · single location

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • isolation
  • survival
  • single location
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
114 min
Details
KomplizinnenHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Artists

2011

A quiet, somber ensemble piece that sits with young inmates' longing for ordinary life, feeling tense and sad rather than action-driven.

Dark, melancholic · about isolation and survival · ensemble

Via
  • dark
  • melancholic
  • isolation
  • survival
  • ensemble
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
79 min
Details
ArtistsHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

O.G.

2018

A quiet, heavy look at life inside, carried by a worn dignity and the constant pressure of choices.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and survival

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • isolation
  • survival
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
113 min
Details
O.G.Hidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Hungarian Requiem

1990

A slow, claustrophobic wait for death, heavy with memory and dread, demanding patience and rewarding it with quiet devastation.

Bleak, dark, slow-burn · about isolation and survival · single location

Via
  • bleak
  • dark
  • isolation
  • survival
  • single location
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
99 min
Details
Hungarian RequiemHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A Man Escaped

1956

Quiet, meticulous, and unbearably tense; you watch every small sound and gesture with held breath.

Bleak, tense, slow-burn · about isolation and survival · single location

Via
  • bleak
  • tense
  • isolation
  • survival
  • single location
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
101 min
Details
A Man EscapedHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

La Haine

1995

A raw, tense day-in-the-life that simmers with anger and despair, pulling you into its restless, volatile world.

Bleak, dark · about identity and friendship

Via
  • bleak
  • dark
  • identity
  • friendship
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
98 min
Details
La HaineHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

Time

2021–2026

A grim, claustrophobic look at prison life that weighs heavily on you, with raw performances and moral dilemmas that linger.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and survival

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • isolation
  • survival
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Seasons
3
Details
TimeHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

Capadocia

2008–2012

A grim, claustrophobic plunge into prison life that weighs on you long after each episode ends.

Bleak, dark, slow-burn · about isolation and survival · ensemble

Via
  • bleak
  • dark
  • isolation
  • survival
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Seasons
3
Details
CapadociaHidden from your suggestions.
Short film

A Night in Jail

2018

A quiet, claustrophobic night that weighs two strangers' lives against each other with sober empathy.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about isolation and identity · single location

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • isolation
  • identity
  • single location
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
15 min
Details
A Night in JailHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Pig's Gene

2019

A tense, wry prison drama that keeps you leaning in as two desperate men scheme and bicker toward escape.

Dark, tense · about survival and friendship · single location

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • survival
  • friendship
  • single location
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
93 min
Details
The Pig's GeneHidden from your suggestions.
Short film

Kubang

2016

A grim, claustrophobic watch that lingers in its oppressive atmosphere and quiet moments of shared despair.

Bleak, dark, slow-burn · about isolation and survival · single location

Via
  • bleak
  • dark
  • isolation
  • survival
  • single location
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
20 min
Details
KubangHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, drama
Directed by
Laurent Bouhnik
Written by
Laurent Bouhnik, Patrick Delassagne
Starring
Pascal Greggory, Gaël Morel, Jamel Debbouze, Fabienne Babe, Élodie Bouchez, François Levantal, Serge Blumental, Zakariya Gouram
Music
Jérôme Coullet
Cinematography
Gilles Henry
Runtime
102 min
Country
France
Languages
French

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikidata