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
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