Featuring an impressive star turn by newcomer Tahar Rahim, A Prophet is a French gangster film filled with arresting, immediate details. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
This acclaimed crime drama follows Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), a delinquent young Muslim man, who is struggling to get by in a French prison. When he is taken under the wing of powerful Corsican mob boss Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), he begins performing regular assignments for him, proving himself invaluable to the imposing criminal. As Malik rises in the mob ranks, he gains more power, but also more enemies, a situation that eventually brings conflict with his mentor.
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Rating: R (Language|Drug Material|Nudity|Sexual Content|Strong Violence)
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Genre: Crime, Drama
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Original Language: French (France)
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Director: Jacques Audiard
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Producer: Martine Cassinelli, Lauranne Bourrachot, Pascal Caucheteux, Marco Cherqui
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Writer: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit
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Release Date (Theaters): limited
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $2.1M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
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Production Co: Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), France 2 (FR2), Conseil Régional de Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur, Chic Films, Why Not Productions, Neon Productions, Page 114, Sofica Soficinéma 4, Celluloid Dreams, France 2 Cinéma, CinéCinéma, Sofica UGC 1, Soficinéma 5, Zyzzyx LLC, Canal+, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC), Région Ile-de-France, BIM Distribuzione
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Critic Reviews for A Prophet
Audience Reviews for A Prophet
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An illiterate half-Arab, half-Corsican serves a prison sentence and rises to become a mob leader. This film is mediocre Martin Scorsese -- wait, it's not directed by Scorsese? Shocking! Then I guess this film is mediocre imitation Scorsese. It dark, depressing, virile, and remarkably violent. I make the Scorsese joke because films like Goodfellas and Casino achieve an impossible ethical feat: they make being a mobster seem cool; they make us say, "Gee, if I were a mobster, I'd be that cool, dressing in sherbet-colored suits." And A Prophet wants us to make the same type of ethical leap: they want us to sympathize with a character who goes through a profound ethical transformation from doe-eyed innocent to cold-blooded killer. But unlike the charming Ace Rothstein, Malik doesn't inspire, intrigue, or charm. The film's portrayal of Muslim fundamentalism doesn't get a lot of traction and its aim isn't that clear to me. Overall, Scorsese has done better - wait, are you sure he didn't direct this?
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gripping with more a sense of realism to it than the majority of prison dramas. no crime sprees and no insatiable urge from the protagonist for power, but more an insurmountable penchant for survival and the rest falling into place
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This French prison drama directed by Jacques Audiard from a screenplay he co-wrote with Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit, is something you cannot miss! If you do, you will be missing on some of the best in the world cinematography on this subject. It stars Tahar Rahim in the title role as an imprisoned petty criminal of Algerian origins who rises in the inmate hierarchy, as he initiates himself into the Corsican and then Muslim subcultures. It is a work of fiction, and for the director the film aimed "creating icons, images for people who don't have images in movies, like the Arabs in France." The character of Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), nineteen years old, French of Algerian descent was so realistically portrayed that it is really hard to understand it as a fictional character, as well as the character of the Corsican mobster Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup). The director wanted to ensure the authenticity of the prison experience, and hired former convicts as advisors and extras... The screenplay was done exceptionally seamless and I wasn't even aware when the transitions unfolded most of the times. The main character had nothing when started and the indifference toward him slowly built up a change that he became someone we cared and wanted to succeed. Of course such screenplay and outstanding director could not be unnoticed: A Prophet won the Grand Prix at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, at the 53rd London Film Festival, it won the Best Film Award. After that won the Prix Louis Delluc 2009, nd at the 63rd British Academy Film Awards, it won a BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language. It was nominated for 13 César Awards, tying it with three other films for the most nominations of any film in César history. It won 9 Cesars at the ceremony, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. The film was nominated for the Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics. The film also won Best Foreign Film at the 13th annual British Independent Film Awards, which were held in London at the Old Billingsgate on December 5, 2010... still thinking of missing this? Don't!
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A morally complex and riveting study of the power struggle within the confines of prison.
pierluigi p Super Reviewer
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