A Prophet (2010)

just watch it!

Best movie ever!

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This is for sure one of the best French movie in last 20-30 years. The other two would be the Blue is the warmest color and The Piano Teacher. But it is not easy to digest the Prophet, when the screen is over, and when you start thinking about it. While everything in the seemingly goes the way the viewer would like to, at the some time, the evil is just starting in the end of the story, because the new mega criminal is born. Malik is, actually, a really nice guy, humble, quite and eager to hear a nice word from anyone. But he is not getting it from almost anyone. Actually anyone who is nice to him can become his friend. By chance, he is forced to choose between killing someone and being killed. And he chooses the first option. That is how he becomes a part of the prison gang, and a type of criminal whose life is worth nothing. It seems he was predestined to that, since his birth, because he grew up in correctional facility, without family. The most unconvincing part of the story is exactly that original kindness and innocence of his. We find him as a pretty naive boy at the age of 18, too naive for a guy who had a difficult life from his birth. Hard to believe that such a naive guy would survive and catch up with the worst crimes so quickly, But that is being explained by his abnormal intelligence and intuition. So, this is not just a next door small criminal, it is a real jewel thrown in a horrible place. If you look at the story from this point of view, its believable. But then we open a different question: are people with abnormal abilities allowed to kill, whenever necessary? Malik is cute, quiet and likable, but he is dangerous and notorious like hell, when faced with the danger for himself. Where is the moral of the story? How should we identify with it? Kill and betray before somebody else betrays and kills you? Where is the line not to cross?

Film Review: "Un prophète" (2009)This picture has some hypnotism to its 150-Minute-Editorial, which seems at first glance slightly long for the straight subjective of an 20-something Native Arab in Central-France exchanging the "Detention Center" for hard-knock "Prison" facts, where he as the character of "Malik", extraordinary capable and well-directed by full-blown auteur-director Jacques Audiard in favor toward his leading actor Tahar Rahim, who makes a daily prison routine actually felt all the way through by confronting ruling nemesis character "César", performed by unmissable intense actor Niels Arestrup; together the youngster (Rahim) and the older man (Arestrup) burn fireworks of emotional beat work down to every inch captured on the screen, when cinematography by Stéphane Fontaine stays hand-held solid throughout as director Jacques Audiard keeps close attention on his leads, where even some loops of in-cell conflict reptition can be forgiven to let "A Prophet" become a modern "French Cinema" gem to be discovered or just revisit with currents of additonal emotional strikes by Alexandre Desplat's simplistic, yet effective score, where the picture lives stark concrete grey walls to metal-fence realities.Copyright 2018 Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC

I mean, I guess this is a better film than I'm giving it credit for. Also, it's not American, so I can't fault it for following every other film of its ilk here. Still, the plot and characters never really rise above being sort of archetypes, and the lead character, although decently played by Tahar Rahim, just isn't very interesting. His arc isn't terribly unrealistic, but it also doesn't go places we haven't seen before, and taken as it is, not terribly effective. However, there are some good things in the film, and despite the weak script, the directing really does do its best to make this rise up. Yeah. not very recommended on my part.

I created this account alone to comment on this film, as through recent months of watching films, I purchased this DVD as an additive to my shelf collection. Let me say this film deserves its own shelf. I really have not been blown away from a film like this in quite a while. Expecting another repeated prison movie perhaps focusing on prison life themes not focused on in the likes of Shawshank Redemption. (Which I am not a big fan of and feel is one of the most over rated films of all time). While perhaps "A Prophet" is not the most original film in terms of storyline, a rising gang member facing racial confrontations from all sides and never truly belonging anywhere. It offers something I can't quite describe in words. The acting is impeccable, Tahar Rahim is amazing, never slipping of his public facade and private duties, he transforms Malik into one of the most manipulative yet remaining likable characters of all time. "I work for myself" and he really did, throughout for himself. Though constantly he had me believing otherwise. His decisive yet well thought out actions make him so believable to the heights he achieves. The internal racial conflicts is never exaggerated, never loses its genuine touch and is loyal to mundane prison reality. It stands alone as easily Greatest Prison Film I have ever seen. ( I have seen a few.) If you are not a fan of foreign films and despise subtitles, understand I was once like you, but if you remain this way you lose out on this and many other of the true cinematic greats.