A Prophet

Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif

Synopsis:

A Young Arab man is sent to a French Prison where he rises amongst his fellow prisoners to become an organised crime leader.

If you’re a bit fed up of the current crop of glossy Hollywood blockbusters and fancy something a bit dark and grim, with subtitles, then this is the movie for you. This movie follows a group of anti-heroes who struggle to succeed and who reach their goals by any means necessary. The cast is made up of almost all non-professional actors and shows what can be done by a competent director.

Set almost entirely within the confines of a prison, the film illustrates the rise to power of Malik el Djebena, who was sentenced for 6 years. The movie shows explicitly, life in prison and paints a grisly image. Corsican prison kingpin, Cesar picks out Malik, forcing him to commit murder, an act that haunts Malik throughout the story. A power struggle is played out between the two men and this is where the movie excels. Both actors portray their roles with fiendish realism. The acting can really be described as “gritty” without overstatement. Audiard’s direction combined with the Cinematography of Stéphane Fontaine enhances the claustrophobia of both the internal and external prisons these characters inhabit. The high definition print on the Blu-Ray really helps draw the audience into this world too.

Summary:

A thoroughly recommended movie . Whilst the running time is a little long, the audience is only reminded a couple of times, otherwise the movie is engaging and thought provoking. It is intelligent without distancing the audience. The combination of Audiard’s direction and the acting make this a worthy film to see more than once.

8 out of 10 (Wayfarer)

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