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 48 wins & 50 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

To ensure the authenticity of the prison experience, Jacques Audiard hired former convicts as advisers and extras.

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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

Corner of My Room
Written by Turner Cody
Performed by Turner Cody

User Reviews

where did the time go?

The storyline of this film is well documented by other reviewers. I read the reviews at 2.30 this afternoon and by 5 PM I was in the local cinema. I wondered if I could survive 150 minutes but I found myself at the end wishing to know more, and rather regretting the end of this fascinating movie. I am not an expert review writer but I found the character portrayals so realistic that they nearly jumped out of the screen. Yes there is violence, bloody in parts, but it is so monumentally well filmed I could look away from the gore and towards the film as a work of art. If there was a mixture of amateur and professional actors, I could not tell the difference.

The names and functions of some of the various characters were lost on me but I got the general gist of it and I was motivated to consider the effect on the psychology of an unremitting regime of politics and violence. There is much food for thought here and I can unreservedly recommend it to all but the most squeamish.