A Prophet
Review
by Anthony Morris
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A Prophet
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Sentenced
to six years in prison for assault, 19 year old Malik is a target for
pretty much everyone as soon as he gets through the gate. Luckily,
his part Arab heritage turns out to be useful when the Corsican gang
that runs the prison wants an informer killed. Once
he has killed for them, he is under their protection - not that they
treat him as one of their own - and soon he is proving himself useful
in a variety of criminal ways. It's
not until his seemingly good behaviour earns him a place in the prison
day-release scheme that he really starts to show his worth, committing
murder and running drug smuggling routes before returning to jail by
dark. All through this the Corsicans treat him like dirt, but he
is a fast learner, and he's got big plans of his own. Writer / director Jacques Audiard (The Beat My Heart Skipped)
mixes almost documentary-style realism with a more traditional "rise to
the top" crime story plot here, and the result is never less than
enthralling. The crimes are brutal
and often bloody, but it is the small social details that make this
work: Malik's Arab heritage is increasingly useful as the number of
Muslims in the prison grows (more than one commentator has seen this as
a metaphor for French society as a whole), while having a day-release
scheme for prisoners is revealed to be perhaps the worst idea
ever. Combining the gangster film
with the prison film is such a brilliant idea youwill wonder why no one
did it earlier - and if anyone will be able to top this.
4
out
of 5
A Prophet
Australian release: 11 February,
2010
Official
Site: A Prophet
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup
Director: Jacques Audiard
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