A Prophet (Un prophète) (Tahir Rahim, Niels Arestrup) : Movie Review
February 4, 2010 by Jess Lomas
Filed under Movie Reviews, Movies
As I awoke unexplainably at exactly 12.45am Wednesday morning and blindly grabbed at my phone to see which films garnered an Oscar nomination and which didn’t I was kicking myself I hadn’t put money on A Prophet being amongst the Best Foreign Language film nominees.
Granted I only saw the film Tuesday night, but after watching the opening scenes of this movie you know without a doubt you are about to witness something special.
The film opens as illiterate 19-year-old Malik El Djebena (Tahir Rahim) enters prison for a six year term. Somewhat alone in the world with no family to speak of, Malik is immediately identified as someone who needs protecting. Being of both Corsican (Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of the French mainland) and Arab descent it’s apparent he doesn’t quite belong in either camp.
When he is recruited by Prison kingpin César Luciani Niels (Arestrup) to murder a new inmate, someone who is inside for only a few weeks before acting as a key witness in a trial, Malik is given the choice; kill or be killed. Slowly, along with Malik, we see how Luciani holds control over the prison, the guards and inmates and how Malik has no choice but to carry out the demand.
In return he is taken under the protective wing of the gang and slowly gains more responsibility whilst never gaining the respect.
When Malik starts applying for leave days and carrying out tasks for Luciani on the outside he begins to develop his own plans which will see him rise through the prison ranks and become a mafia kingpin in his own right.
A Prophet : Oscar Gold!
WHAT’S THE BUZZ
A Prophet is raking the awards in; people are loving this underdog tale set inside a French prison, and with much reason. Apart from the most recent Academy Award nomination the film has won the Grand Prix and was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival; has been nominated and won in two categories at the 2009 European Film Awards; was nominated for a 2010 Golden Globe, Independent Spirit award and the list really does go on. There is a lot of buzz about this one!
A Prophet is a bit of a “numb bum” movie, coming in at 155 minutes, but whilst your derrière may drift off to sleep I guarantee you will not.
There’s quite a lot going on during the film too, so paying attention is a must – and not just because you’re reading subtitles (yes it’s in French, Arabic and Corsican – so unless you’re fluent bring your reading glasses). There are a lot of characters coming and going and you’re not really sure at first who you should be taking note of, despite some rather sporadic titles that pop up on screen; why exactly we are informed of his first anniversary in prison yet no other dates, or why the word ‘economics’ flashes up on screen is still a puzzle to me.
Prison life is undeniably bleak, and for the majority of the film we feel this. Bleak tones and set design (it’s a prison they couldn’t really get all fancy could they) help the audience feel the confines of the prison walls.
It’s when Malik ventures out on his leave days that we too get a little freedom from a life that can only be described as unforgiving. The interesting thing is following Malik’s journey from wallflower to kingpin, a stellar performance from Tahir Rahim who has few roles to his name.
Acting opposite the brute Niels Arestrup (Luciani) Tahir creates a character you can really champion for and draws you into this world with such ease.
A Prophet is an intense and rewarding film experience, with plenty of shocks and a few laughs definitely check this one out!
WATCH OUT FOR
If you felt a bit squeamish watching the scene in Inglorious Basterds where a swastika is being carved into a forehead then heed this warning, there is a rather bloody throat slitting scene that may require the old hands in front of your eyes trick.
WATCH OUT FOR | RATING : 4 / 5
