A prophet review

César Luciani: [to Malik] If you can walk around this place, it's because I had you made porter. If you eat, it's thanks to me. If you dream, think, live... it's thanks to me! 

Director:Jacques Audiard
(2010)

For someone who thoroughly enjoys foreign cinema it strikes me as odd that I could count all the ones ive seen on my fingers. Oldboy, pans labyrinth, the diving bell and the butterfly, the thing they have in common is that they’re all excellent films. French crime thriller A Prophet continues this tradition, effortlessly becoming one of the best gangster films since 2006’s The Departed.

A Prophet follows 19 year old Malik (Tahar Rahim), an Arab French man who has finally landed himself into prison after countless stints in juvenile detention centres. Illiterate and purposeless in life, a matter of convenience catches him up in a brutal white prison gang, run by the indomitable Cesar (Niels Arestrup). Cesar wants an Arab man assassinated, and due to racial tension, is situated (quite obviously) in the Arab wing of the prison. They force Malik into doing their dirty work, and from here, he begins his ascent in the gang in what can basically be described as a rags to riches tale.

What helps flesh out and develop this stunning transition from lowly grunt to high flying lieutenant is the phenomenal editing. This allows director Jacques Audiard to fill the films lengthy 155 minute running time with constantly evolving scenarios. No content can be considered filler here, with the plot unfolding at a lightening quick pace. Coupled with some excellent handheld camerawork, scenes are consistently riveting, helping to tell the story just as well as any line of dialogue.

Performances are solid from the entire cast, most notably Arestrup’s gang boss. A powerful and violent man, it was his decision to take Malik into the gang. It’s Arestup who should be commended for filings the role out by him hard as nails, but frail and unsettled on the inside. Tahim does a good job as Malik, applying the subtle nuances to his rise to power. Malik has a fiery temper, but possesses deep emotion and a sense of wonderment with the outside world. In this sense he’s almost symmetrical to Cesar, they both front a person very different to the one that they harbour on the inside. Jacques Audiard’s work isn’t obtuse, these emotions and weaknesses don’t litter the script, but instead are delicately placed into a scene via thoughtful cinematography and mise en scene.

While the majority of A Prophet is a drama, it’s injected with splashes of gut wrenching violence. Easily the most unforgettable is Malik's first job for the gang, the assassination of a man called Reyab. Before Malik has entered his cell, Reyab has had almost no development and much like Malik, we know nothing of him. In a cruel revelation, Reyab is a compassionate and caring human being, offering to help Malik overcome his illiteracy, even offering to give him some books. Violence in films very rarely shocks me, but the climax of this scene made me gasp and cover my mouth in horror. The word vicious doesn’t even begin to describe it.

This snappy pacing does occasionally pass over some small details though. A prophet features a large cast of characters, with the script giving them far too little dialogue to make them memorable. Because of this, their importance is often diminished and it can be difficult to remember who is who. It doesn’t ruin the film, but it can make it more of a challenging watch than it needs to be. Events get a clustered in the second third, but things are worked out to a point of understanding by the time the credits role. It’s the films biggest flaw, the only thing stopping this mystical, hauntingly exquisite film from becoming a masterpiece.

8