REVIEW: DVD Release: A Prophet

Film: A Prophet
Release date: 7th June 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 149 mins
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller/Action
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France/Italy

This release brought about the return of the celebrated Jacques Audiard to award-winning form. Following the success of 2005’s The Beat That Skipped My Heart, Audiard was again given the nod by BAFTA, this after recognition at Cannes. Delving into a genre that has been ever present in modern cinema, how has A Prophet emerged as such a recognised crime classic amongst its contemporaries?

The film spans the six-year prison sentence of 19-year-old degenerate Malik El Djebena. Brecourt is a notorious hellhole where inmates rely on their connections to protect them against their ever present violent way of life. Malik’s North African descent places him bang in the middle of an ethnically split prison run by Corsicans and heavily inhabited by Arabs. Despite his illiteracy and minimal prospects, he concentrates on his future release and is a loner within the prison walls.

After Malik is forced to do a favour for prison ‘fat cat’ Cesar, his prison education begins, and he is taken under the wing of the Corsicans sitting on top of the prison pile. The years pass as Malik climbs the institutional ladder under the wing of the ruthless Cesar; he deals in drugs, takes part in hostage exchanges, and even facilitates assassinations. Malik’s cooperation has changed to enthusiasm as he begins to develop the know how to transcend his status as a petty errand boy.

Using his newly found status, and with connections that stretch outside the prison walls, Malik sets out to go in to business for himself. He is not just working to leave the shadow of Cesar and his crew but to survive his sentence...


The most forceful device of Audiard’s film is the realism he installs from the get go. The fear and bursts of ultra-violence go hand in hand with the drab solitude and boredom of prison life. There is an ever present sense of the length of Malik’s sentence, as the hours and days pass we see him in his cell, enduring mindless jobs, bored in classes and alone in the yard. The contrast of action and daily grind makes for engrossingly uneasy watching as we feel Malik’s trepidation in such unpredictable surroundings.

Malik’s journey is in no way a typical rise in the crime world. From the moment we see him, he is the picture of an awkward teenage troublemaker; irritable, aggressive and irreconcilable. For him, this is not about moral discovery or redemption as genre character typing may dictate. He has no morality and he is not fighting for redemption, the only thing he cares about is finishing his time in one piece.

Such moral inclination is demonstrated in the film’s most effectively violent scenes, as Malik is forced into his first job for the Corsicans, a hit on potential rat Reyab. The blood spilling tussle is hard to watch but impossible to turn away from as Malik frightfully botches the planned hit - the realism of the film extends to its many layers and this sets an ominous tone for the two hours ahead. If visions of Reyab’s ghost are appealing to Malik’s guilt or integrity, he dismisses them with his typical nonchalance - he is doing what needs to be done.

Rahim Tahar’s hard-faced performance sees him emerge from this film as a face to watch but he’s not the only actor to make an impression. Niels Arestup plays the part of Cesar Luciani with terrifying effect. He is a chain smoking, vicious and erratic mob boss whose presence in the film is consistently menacing and never trustworthy. If classics such as Goodfellas showed off camaraderie between criminals, A Prophet focuses on a shifting of allegiances and self-preservation that is just as absorbing. Do not expect to see a father like mentor in Arestup’s character, he rules with a bulldoggish resolve and fear. The altercations between Cesar and Malik show how Audiard is able to shift tone to the greatest effect.

A lack of empathy set about by Malik does not derive from the pleasure of seeing him grow and succeed. He juggles with the loyalties of the Corsicans and the Arabs with a newly found cunning and under the influence of those who try to control him. His rise comments heavily on the influence of incarceration, starting as a boy with nothing to offer on the outside Malik is honed with the skills to succeed on the inside - his transformation shows the value (or danger) of a prison upbringing. Malik is a product of his environment.


The violence is harrowing and provides some of the most unforgettable images ever seen in prison drama. That said, A Prophet succeeds where so many have failed by not making this the sole focus of the picture. Audiard achieves a much more cerebral approach to the criminal world; a vision of prison being that is intensely believable. Oscar buzz and awards galore aside this is a film that deserves your attention. A true benchmark in a done-to-death genre. LW

REVIEW: DVD Release: A Prophet

Release date: 7th June 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 149 mins
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller/Action
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France/Italy

Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet carries with it an impressive list of credentials - an Academy Award Nomination, a BAFTA win, a Golden Globe Nomination, the Grand Prize of the Jury Award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and nine French Cesar Awards including Best Film, and that’s just the icing on the cake. With this level of acclaim, you’d be forgiven for carrying a certain weight of expectation.

Sentenced to six years for what is never made entirely clear (though violence toward the law is hinted at an early stage), 19-year-old Malik El Djebena (an excellent Tahar Rahim) finds himself thrust into one of France’s toughest prisons. With no friends and no contacts, and not exactly physically imposing, Malik sticks out like a sore thumb, and subsequently struggles to adapt to his new life inside.

Spotting an opportunity to use him to his own gain, Veteran inmate and Mafia kingpin Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup) offers to protect Malik in return for favours. Soon enough, Cesar has him doing all his dirty work, including killing a fellow inmate in one of the films more intense set pieces.

For a large amount of his time Malik goes about his business while completely under the thumb of his Mafia boss, who is so powerful, he essentially has the prison staff in his pocket.

Feeling deflated and used, Malik soon learns to read and write, and slowly learns the tricks of the trade, and becomes more influential as a result. With twelve-hour day releases, he is able to run errands on the outside, while simultaneously building his own drugs racket.

He soon develops more respect from his fellow inmates, much to the annoyance of his mafia boss, who wants him to have no ties with anyone but himself. As events unfold, it’s not long before he refuses to jump through Cesar’s hoops, plotting his own ascendancy through the violent and brutal hierarchy of his fellow inmates to become a formidable player in his own right…


Director Jacques Audiard creates a gritty and realistic prison environment. He is aided by some terrific performances, most notably from Tahar Rahim, who is the driving force throughout. There is seldom a scene without him. What makes us root for Malik is the boyish naivety he possesses. Even when he’s slicing a man’s throat or beating fellow inmates with heavy objects, you always get the sense that Malik is doing it because he has to. He is putty in the Mafia’s hand. He’s cornered and if he doesn’t do as he’s told, he’s a dead man. Our sympathy for him is prevalent throughout. We are left in no doubt that he is at the lower end of the pecking order amongst his mafia friends, being ordered around like an unwelcome guest, making coffee and delivering bread.

Quite touchingly, upon his day releases, we witness his delight at being on a plane for the first time, gawping in awe at the views above, and enjoying a paddle on the beach - later caressing the sand from his shoes when back in his cell at night. This is a man who clearly hasn’t had much of the happier things in life.

A Prophet, however, is not without its faults. The intricacies of the plot are not always easy to follow. Who’s doing what and why is a question you may find yourself asking more than once, and repeat viewings are perhaps necessary to fully understand its double dealings.

The two-and-a-half-hour running time is, at times, felt. The first 45 minutes fly by, but thereafter, the momentum occasionally drops, and your focus may wander. This is due in no small part to prison life being swapped at frequent intervals for the criminal activities on the outside, as Malik is put to work outside his prison walls, which is simply not as interesting or compelling.

A supernatural element, which takes place throughout, seems at odds with the rest of the film, as Malik’s first murder victim appears regularly in his cell, perhaps the ghostly image of Malik’s conscience, or is Malik simply going insane? We never really find out.

There are echoes of other prison/crime dramas throughout, with a number of scenes reminding you of greats such as The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption, whilst Rahim resembles a young De Niro, especially when cradling his brother’s baby.


A prophet delivers an expansive and, at times, riveting portrayal of French prison life and criminal activity, but ultimately suffers from a convoluted and familiar plot, and some long lapses in momentum. Thank goodness for Tahar Rahim, the films major saving grace, who delivers one of the best performances of recent times. It is he who is most deserving of the acclaim. GY