A Prophet

A Prophet is a messenger of God. In the film that shares the same name, the messenger is Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) and his God is Mafia kingpin Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup). Malik delivers the word of this god (or godfather) to the inmates of the prison he is incarcerated in, and, later, beyond. This word often expresses itself in violence or money.

A messenger is also someone who experiences visions. Here, Malik is visited by the ghost of a man he murders. Is it a vengeful vision, or a vision that will help him along the way? To add another twist, Malik also experiences visions of a deer. Later on it appears these visions were prefigurative; in the final third, there is a spectacular (and pivotal) road accident involving a stag.

It’s this melding of symbolism and allusion with staples of the prison and gangster dramas (drugs, mob hits and the odd predatory inmate in the showers) that make A Prophet a surprising, original and gripping piece of filmmaking.

It also helps that its directed by the masterful Jacques Audiard, who was behind 2005’s sleeper hit The Beat That My Heart Skipped (which made an instant pin-up of star Romain Duris). Perhaps this movie will do the same for its young star; indeed, Tahar Rahim delivers a performance easily equal to Duris’s. Although perhaps lacking the star charisma of Duris, Rahim makes up for it in sheer ability.

The actor is integral- and in fact rarely off screen- in this tale of attempting to define an identity in a place so adamant to suppress any traces of individuality. It’s hard to say what the most defining aspect of the film is; it’s two and a half hour length is so rich in plot, character and thematic detail to almost prove overwhelming. However, it gives the viewer a more than worthy excuse to go back and watch it again. And again. It seems to be the case that this film will quickly become regarded as a classic, and rightly so.