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:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$163,773, 28 February 2010

Gross USA:

$2,087,720

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,873,691

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

Though Niels Arestrup, who plays the terrifying Corsican crime lord who runs the prison, was in Jacques Audiard's previous film, the director met Tahar Rahim, who plays Malik, when they shared an automobile ride from another film set.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prisoner: Take these handcuffs off!

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Shutter Island/The Ghost Writer/Happy Tears (2010)

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Soundtracks

Mack the Knife
Music by Kurt Weill
Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
Performed by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

This movie is awesome

This was one of the first French film I have ever watched. I decided to give it a go.

Initially I wasn't holding out much hope when I placed the DVD into my drive, I was wrong.

The film is a hard hitting which keeps you gripped and awaiting the clever plot, it doesn't not disappoint and the way in which the plot unfolds is clever as well as realistic. The actors do a very good job and the main actor is especially good, the white mob boss is also a superb actor.

The film is about an Arab who enters jail after a life of trouble. He soon becomes gripped into the underworld of gang violence, he then joins a white gang whilst carrying out jobs for them. Whilst he cleverly starts to build his own empire.

Go watch this film now, sometimes I don't watch films if I have not seen reviews or thousands of votes here on IMD. Trust me on this film, one of the best films I have seen in a long time and I am sure you will not be disappointed.