Compelling, raw, violent but a superbly directed, well-performed and overall, an awesomely unique film. “A Prophet” is modern cinema at its best and another masterpiece from writer/director Jacques Audiard.
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TITLE: A Prophet (Un prophete)
YEAR OF FILM RELEASE: 1999
DURATION: 155 Minutes
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Classics
RATED: R (For Strong Violence, Sexual Content, Nudity, Language and Drug Material)
RELEASE DATE: August 3, 2010
Directed by Jacques Audiard
Screenplay by Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard
Original Screenplay by Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit
Producer: Lauranne Bourrachot, Martine Cassinelli, Marco Cherqui
Line Producer: Antonin Dedet
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography by Stephanie Fontaine
Edited by Juliette Welfling
Casting by Richard Rousseau
Production Design by Michel Barthelemy
Art Direction by Etienne Rohde
Costume Design by Virginie Montel
Starring:
Tahar Rahim as Malik El Djebena
Niels Arestrup as Cesar Luciani
Adel Bencherif as Ryad
Hichem Yacoubi as Reyeb
Reda Kateb as Jordi
Jean-Philippe Ricci as Vettori
Gilles Cohen as Prof
Antoine Bekhti as Djamila
Pierre Leccia as Sampierro
Foued Nassah as Antaro
Jean-Emmanuel Pagni as Santi
Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena, part Arab, part Corsican, cannot read or write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang currently ruling the prison, he is given a number of”missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader.s confidence in the process. Malik is a fast learner and rises up the prison ranks, all the while secretly devising his own plans.
If there is one thing I have appreciated about Jacques Audiard’s work, you know you’re in for a cinematic treat. I enjoyed his 1999 film “Venus Beauty Institute”, his 2001 film “Read My Lips” and repeated his success with his 2005 film “The Beat That My Heart Skipped” and in 2009, Audiard returned with “Un Prophete” (A Prophet) which is based on the original screenplay by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit and rewritten by Audiard and Thomas Bidegain.
The film would receive critical praise and would go on to receive an Academy Award nomination in 2009, a winner of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix , won “Best Picture of the Year” at the London Film Festival and would join two films in the history of the Caesar Awards by being nominated for 13 awards and the third film in French cinema history to win 9 or more Caesar awards (the last two films was the 1980 film “The Last Metro” and the 1990 film “Cyrano de Bergerac”). And now the film will be released in the US on Blu-ray and DVD on August 3rd courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
“A Prophet” revolves around the character Malik El Djebena (played by Tahar Rahim), an illiterate young Arab man who has been living off the streets and has been sentenced to six years for a crime.
While at the prison, Malik keeps to himself and tries to stay away from everyone. But quickly he learns that prison life is nothing safe as he is beaten and his shoes are stolen. While taking a shower, a man named Reyeb offers to get him some hash if Malik gives him oral sex. Malik is sickened by the proposition and refuses.
Meanwhile at the prison, we learn how the Corsican mafia have a major presence and are the men in charge. The Corsican mafia are led by a high-tempered man named Cesar Luciani (played by Niels Arestrup) and with his power in the outside world, although stuck in prison, he rules it with an iron fist and also has a crooked warden working alongside with him. The prison is segregated as the Corsican mafia watches over the prison while the growing number of Arab prisoners start to catch their attention. Of course, the Corsican mafia have a problem with the Arabs and wants to make a point to them of who’s the boss in prison.
Luciani receives word from the outside that they need to kill the Arab man Reyeb (the man who offered Malik some Hash) but the problem is, they can’t get to him because their cell is far from them and that he is well protected by the fellow Arabs around him. But one man can get close…
So, immediately the Corsican mafia get to Malik. Because he hangs out with no one and he is Arab, they know they can control him. Luciani tells Malik that he must kill Reyeb and if he does what they say, he will get protection from them in prison. If he refuses, he’ll be killed.
Malik doesn’t want to kill anyone, he’s not that kind of man. And when he tries to contact the warden, he is nearly choked to death by the mafia and is reminded that they rule the prison. His choice is to kill Reyeb or die in prison.
Malik knows he must play by their rules and do everything that Luciani tells him in order to survive in prison. Meanwhile, despite being illiterate, Malik uses his time in prison to learn how to read, observe how the pro-convicts are wheeling and dealing in prison but also managing to get deals done outside in the real world and unknown to the Corsican mafia, learning how to understand and even speak their language. What kind of man will Malik evolve too?
“A Prophet” is a film that is a fantastic film that is well-written, well-directed and more than anything, both Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup do a wonderful job with their role. Perfectly time interaction and the film while long at 155 minutes, was well-written and helped develop the characters, especially Malik’s journey as the quiet prisoner to seeing him evolve into something quite different.
Needless to say, “A Prophet” is a survival film. Malik does all he can to survive within the next six years and that is by remaining close to the Corsican mafia (who treat him like a dog because he’s Arabic) while trying to keep his reputation cool among the Arabs. If anything, we learn first hand of how difficult it is for Malik as he must obey Luciani in order to survive the corrupted prison system but also making sure to maintain communication with other people in prison to ensure the success of his business and also helping those who are with him.
With that being said, the film does have its share of violent moments and for the faint-hearted, especially for those who don’t like seeing blood, this film does have a very bloody scene. One scene has Malik being trained by the Corsican mafia on how he is to kill Reyeb. In the scene, Malik is to pretend he is about to give Reyeb oral but with a blade hidden in his mouth, Malik has to slice the carotid artery on Reyeb’s neck. Let’s just say that things get bloody in this scene.Other scenes feature Malik being kicked in the ground, punched, nearly eye gouged.
But these scenes are necessary to show how a man can change in prison and it has a psychological toll on Malik as he begins to see the man he has killed in his room and begins to have a conversation with him. May it be guilt and this man haunts Malik’s inner conscience but the truth is, while in prison and with no one to trust but his one friend Ryad (played by Adel Bencherif), all Malik has is this ghost of Reyeb. Possibly to remind him of his innocence that was stripped away by the Corsican mafia. We see how this man go from this silent loner, we see him evolve to a new kind of man and everything plays out quite wonderfully at the end.
There have been a good number of well-created prison films in the past 50 years such as “Grand Illusion”, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Le Trou”, “Stalag 17”, etc. With most dealing with prison escapees to police or someone disguising themselves as prisoners trying to obtain information from a criminal. And while survival in prison has been featured in a variety of films, “A Prophet” is probably the first film in which a writer and director has attempted (and in this case succeeding) in depicting one man’s survival while being in the most corrupted and dangerous place to be. Having to lean on those who want to use you, corrupt you and rob you of your innocence and thus changing you in the process.
This is one grueling journey for the protagonist and at 155-minutes, it’s definitely a film that requires one’s patience. As for its title, “A Prophet” comes from one of the crime bosses in which Malik has to meet (which Luciani has arranged with his people in the outside). Malik has a dream the night before about driving and seeing a lot of deer and a deer sign and sure enough, while in the car with the crime boss, he quickly remembers the deer by seeing the deer sign and warns the people in the car that they are about to get into an accident. The car manages to hit only one but Malik’s warning enables him to save the lives of the criminals, the crime boss asks Malik how he knew those deer were coming and if he is some kind of prophet.
The title has nothing to do with Malik having dreams that come true (with the exception of the deer incident) but more or less, a man who learns the hard way of survival from a top mafia boss and learns about the shady practices of well-connected criminals in the prison system and eventually utilizing the things he has learned and making the best out of it.
Although the film has received mostly positive reviews, there are some who challenge the film’s plot of Malik being able to leave the prison system for “leave days” which are given to low-incident criminals. With Luciani’s connection with the warden and the outside, Luciani depends on Malik handling some business for him while on his leave day.
Donald Levit of “ReelTalk Movie Reviews” writes, “Malik may have a plan or may wing it, but too many things fly too fast and furiously — a first, seconds-long airplane ride (nicely done); a mosque and imam, cached kilos and Egyptians; a highway deer-crossing sign and an outdoor beach restaurant lunch; an increasing Muslim prison population and transfers or releases for fifteen of the twenty Corsicans; a bafflingly complicated and carried out Mace attack and van rub out.”
Levit does have a point but I believe that is why the duration of the film was long. Director and writer Jacques Audiard and co-writer Thomas Bidegain wanted to show how powerful the Corsican mafia boss Caesar Luciani truly is. We see this man having access to the best cell, television, food, clothing and even having access to a hidden cell phone. We know that the warden has been aiding Luciani and of course, whenever someone from the outside is meeting with him, he is literally conducting business and uses Malik and his weakness and fear in doing these jobs (which can easily get himself killed). But Luciani is well-connected and is able to make things happen for Malik in the outside world.
A lot of things do happen in the second half of the film and I can see where Donald Levit is coming from with his assessment of the scenarios. He also comments on the many players in the film. And yes, there are many players in the prison system that Malik has to interact with in the film. But in the end, all that matters is Malik’s business relationship with Luciani and his business relationship and friendship with Ryad.
Overall, “A Prophet” is a magnificent film and I hope it will encourage many cinema fans who are not familiar with Jacques Audiard’s films to go out and search his previous films. In the case of “A Prophet”, definitely compelling cinema that is thought-provoking, raw and violent but easily another well-crafted masterpiece from Jacques Audiard.
Highly recommended!
