A Prophet (2009)

A young Arab man is sent to a French prison.

Director:

Jacques Audiard

Writers:

Thomas Bidegain (screenplay), Jacques Audiard (screenplay)

Stars:

Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 50 wins & 52 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tahar Rahim	...	Malik El Djebena
Niels Arestrup	...	César Luciani
Adel Bencherif	...	Ryad
Reda Kateb	...	Jordi
Hichem Yacoubi	...	Reyeb
Jean-Philippe Ricci	...	Vettori
Gilles Cohen	...	Prof
Pierre Leccia	...	Sampierro
Antoine Basler	...	Pilicci
Foued Nassah	...	Antaro
Jean-Emmanuel Pagni	...	Santi
Frédéric Graziani	...	Chef de détention
Leïla Bekhti	...	Djamila
Rabah Loucif	...	L'avocat de Malik
Slimane Dazi	...	Lattrache

Storyline

Nineteen year-old Franco-Arab Malik El Djebena is just starting his six year prison sentence in Brécourt. Although he has spent the better part of his life in juvenile detention, this stint is his first in an adult prison. Beyond the division of Corsicans and Muslims in the prison (the Corsicans who with their guard connections rule what happens in the prison), he has no known friends or enemies inside. He is just hoping to serve his time in peace and without incident, despite having no prospects once he's out of jail since he's illiterate and has no support outside of the prison. Due to logistics, the head of Corsican inmates, a sadistic mafioso named César Luciani, co-opts Malik as part of the Corsicans' activities, not only regarding what happens inside the prison, but also continued criminal activities outside. The innocent Malik has no idea what to do but cooperate. This move does not sit well with the other Corsicans, who only see Malik as a dirty Arab, and the Muslims who now ...

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Plot Keywords:

male frontal nudity | male pubic hair | strip search | male rear nudity | brief male full frontal nudity | 

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Taglines:

Escaping the prison of life.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexual content, nudity, language and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook page Official site [Canada] (English)

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French Arabic Corsican

Release Date:

26 March 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Prophet

Filming Locations:

Avenue Montaigne, Paris 8, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$163,773, 28 February 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,084,637, 27 June 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Why Not Productions, Chic Films, Page 114

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Prior to making this film, Jacques Audiard had screened a film for prisoners in France. Shocked by the prison conditions, he decided his next film would take place in one.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prisoner: Take these handcuffs off!

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2009 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Bridging the Gap
Written by Nas (as Nasir Jones)
Performed by Nas featuring Olu Dara
Courtesy of Ill Will, Columbia Records

User Reviews

Stylish and engaging crime story

The problem with praise is that so much is said and so much is built up that at times it can be quite imposing for me to approach a film to watch it for what it is. This happened with A Prophet, which is why it took me over a year to get around to watching it. The uniformly great praise and the awards all built this film up in my head as something that would be worthy, perhaps a little arty and maybe even deliberately inaccessible (which can be the case with some films that critics gush over – partly I think it makes them appear smart). Also, lest we forget, it is also in French and runs to almost two and a half hours long. However I decided it had been on my queue for far too long as it was and recently I sat to watch it.

What I found was not an art film, not a pretentious film, not a "foreign" film but rather just a really well told story of a young man falling into a life of crime but then climbing and scheming his way up it. The rather breathless manner in which the film has been discussed doesn't do it any favours because, if you ignore all the words, the film is just this and it does it very well indeed. The Malik at the start of the film is very different from the Malik in the later stages, even though only a few years have passed. The difference is very well handled and we see him grow in his abilities, his confidence and also his ruthlessness. All of this occurs in a consistent flow of narrative that begins with him being forced into a violent act (one that stays with him) but then making himself useful and starting his own things on the side. In terms of narrative events it is very well structured and easy to follow, but it is the emotional journey that adds layers to it.

I read one critic compare the journey from (comparative) innocence to that taken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather and, while the details are more low-key and grubby, it is a fair comparison. Malik is fascinating as he stresses himself sick over his first kill, but just as fascinating when playing the odds with the various factions he straddles with influence. He is never free of beatings or risk, but he engages in the way he deals with it all with confidence and a growing willingness to do what is required. Director Audiard delivers it all with a range of styles – most of which work. At times it feels very seedy and grey in colour, particularly at the start and the camera sits in corners and watches from afar; this then contrasts with other scenes where it owes a debt to Scorsese in the use of music and montages (Malik being put in role of porter to the sound of Nas being a sudden but effective change in style). I wasn't really feeling the use of words on the screen – it didn't seem to add much and it did feel a bit too derivative, but other than this I had no complaints.

The performances are mostly very strong. The standout is of course Rahim in the lead role; he convinces in his journey and he pitches his development just right across the film – never going too far from who he is, not becoming a different person, but just showing growth and change in small but important ways. Arestrup is nearly as good as the cruel but fading lord of the prison while Bencherif, Yacoubi and many others make convincing supports. The world of the prison also feels very real and very threatening and even the extras add to the feeling of the place.

A Prophet is a great film: a crime story with strong characters, well developed plot and a constant feel of risk and threat without being over the top or losing touch with the gritty real feel of the prison world. Directed with style (but not too much style) the film uses the cast well and produces a roundly engaging and satisfying story. Perhaps a bit too over-hyped and made out to be way more than it is, it is still very much seeing and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Goodfellas and other such crime stories.