Review: A Prophet

Director Jacques Audiard's follow up to the memorable The Beat That My Heart Skipped (De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté) has finally reached Austin, nearly a year after taking Cannes by storm.

A Prophet (Un prophète) is a complex prison tale that both condemns the system in all its forms and celebrates the perverted way it transforms lives. Nineteen-year-old Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) is sent to prison for attacking a cop. Friendless, with no family and fewer clues, Malik quickly finds himself faced with committing a terrible crime or die. The reward is the dubious protection of a Corsican kingpin (Niels Arestrup) who takes Malik under his wing, but like an abusive father, this boon comes with a hefty price tag.

While Arab in ethnicity, Malik has little cultural ties with other Arabs, making him a man without any affiliations other than what he forges. His only resources are his mind, his resilience and his patience, and his evolution is marked by chapters most often associated with the people in Malik's life.

Once he's connected to the kingpin running the entire prison, Malik quietly endures slurs and abuse, but also experiences visions of the man whose demise brought about his precarious protection. He quickly chooses to better himself by learning how to read, and tolerating the disdain of the Corsicans knowing it's the only way to survive.

Rahim manages to balance awkwardness with the subtleties of someone playing a long game as he gives his character every possible dimension, reserving any fleeting smugness for when it's most effective. It's a very strong performance, and he manages to add more nuance into his performance than one would expect in a more seasoned actor.  His interplay with surrogate father César (Arestrup) and the Corsican gang that runs the prison is much like a favored but carelessly abused dog, but one that hasn't forgotten it's got teeth of it's own.

Deliberately paced, Audiard's A Prophet is so full of details it does not feel as long as its 108 minutes, although those looking for lots of action will be disappointed. This is a cerebral film, although the moments of highly graphic violence are intensified by the discrete use of them.  

In some ways, Audiard's A Prophet is not unlike The Beat That My Heart Skipped, and not just because they share a director and composer (Alexandre Desplat) and a young criminal protagonist. Where The Beat That My Heart Skipped is moody and almost ethereal, with steamy and dark visuals,  A Prophet is an exercise in patience much like a chess game, with lots of grays. Stéphane Fontaine did the cinematography on both films, and manages to make all the shades of gray hold the audience's attention. 

A Prophet has been sweeping up most awards for which its been nominated, and that's many. It swept the Cesar Awards (the French version of the Oscars), picking up nine awards to go with the Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes and a BAFTA (English version of the Oscars). It was nominated for a Spirit Award and the Foriegn Language Film Oscar. 

Don't assume the movie's success is built solely on buzz; A Prophet is a haunting film worthy of multiple viewings to appreciate all the layers built into the story. 

Austin connection: Jimmie Dale Gilmore's cover of "Mack the Knife" is used in the final scene and the beginning of the credits.