Tags
A Prophet, film, France, French film, movie, Niels Arestrup, prison, Tahir Rahim
By Ross Moulton
For someone who likes to think they keep up with the latest and greatest in pop culture, my awareness for solid foreign films borders on the pathetic. It makes me wonder – is there a website? Or a blog? Or perhaps a LinkedIn group that could provide me with this elusive and fleeting information?
In less time than it took me to write those queries, I discovered a website that does just that: Top 100 Foreign Films List
Regardless of arbitrary top films listings, I still didn’t see ‘A Prophet’ until long after it hit the théâtre (as they say in the land of boiled escargot). Not an Academy Award nomination, nor a Golden Globe win brought the film to my attention, and if it wasn’t for the urging from a friend, I probably never would never have seen this film. But a las, there is a happy ending to this tale, and a recap for your reading pleasure to boot!
UPDATE: For those of your who abhor foreign language films and are repulsed at the mere thought of reading a blog entry about one, rest easy, there is an English language remake in the works: Oscar-Nominated Crime Drama A Prophet To Get The Remake Treatment
Let’s get into it.
“If you eat…It’s thanks to me. If you dream, think, live…It’s thanks to me.” –César Luciani
When Darwin pontificated his thoughts on survival, it very well could have come on the heels of watching, “A Prophet”. Set amidst the luminous environment that is European incarceration, the film centers around young Malik, a 19 year old neophyte inmate, recently extradited from juvenile detention and thrust into modern day French prison warfare. Malik possesses a naivete to prison life that is as concerning as it is obvious, shown as he’s immediately pummeled by fellow prisoners for his sneakers. While his decision to rise up against his aggressors lands him promptly on his backside, we do get the sense that Malik’s orphaned childhood has bred a courageous sensibility that will serve him well in this environment.
The movie’s overarching storyline highlights the ethnic riff between the Arabs and the Corsicans, and is driven by Malik’s dysfunctional yet reverent relationship to the jail’s chief mafioso, Cesar (a Corsican). Cesar is callous and manipulative by nature, quickly made evident when he forces Malik to kill an Arab set to take the witness stand for an impending trial. With a plan both uncomfortably sexual and punishing, Malik commits the murder, but is left shaking in the cell’s bed after the act – his despair towards murder as visible as the blood soaking the ground around him. Despite this overwhelming discomfort, the violent act has now earned Malik protection from the Coriscans – and an apprenticeship with Cesar.
The film portrays his rise through the ranks, accelerated by the transfer of Cesar’s top lieutenants to another prison. His ascent as Cesar’s right hand man is accompanied by an increasing mastery of barter, shown as the purest means toward survival in prison. Malik soon begins taking temporary 12 hour ‘leave day’s’, where he not only engages Cesar’s outside business interests (casinos), but also broadens his personal dealing of ‘hash’ alongside Ryad, his closest friend in prison, and Jordi, the Gypsy.
Cesar’s penultimate order comes when he orders Malik to kill his own boss, Jacky Marcaggi. Malik enlists Ryad to help him, but as the day of reckoning nears, he learns that the crew of men recruited by Ryad are unreliable, and he is forced to carry out the hit himself. Malik subsequently kills the bodyguards but decides to leave Marcaggi alive, with instructions to take out his revenge on Cesar. Coupled with a prior deposit of cash to an Arab Imad, Malik has now successfully swung Arab support in his favor, and left Cesar, the Corisican, lacking any of his former backing.
While the tale of ‘A Prophet’ is dark and unforgiving, it’s able to illuminate with moments of dichotomy. Whether it’s the emphatic contrast of life ‘inside’ versus out, or the cultivation of friendship in the omnipresence of enemies, ‘A Prophet’ gives meat to these moments in a way that viewers can truly feel. They are shown subtly throughout the film:
The sight of Malik’s head resting peacefully in Ryad’s car – and sensing relief, as if I had been released from something as well.
Malik’s overly eager reception of bread from the flight attendant – and seeing such pleasure being taken from something so simple.
Malik’s casual nature while smoking a cigarette with Ryad – and witnessing an innocent laugh with a friend most of us normally take for granted.
Within these varied moments there is also the evolution of Malik himself – once the 19 year old ‘boy’ beaten up for his shoes, compromised and unwilling, he emerges from prison a man, now revered for his courage and power. When you see him walking away from prison with three large vehicles following him for protection, you can’t help but feel, in your bones, the same sense of triumph that Malik feels.
Darwin would be proud.
Check out the trailer for “A Prophet” below: