The French prison system, just like French society in general, is rife with cultural tensions between distinct ethnic groups. In the prison that Malik El Djebena finds himself in for assaulting a police officer, the Corsicans rule the roost while the Arabs wait in the wings.
Malik, disliked by the Arabs for being a Corsican and disliked by the Corsicans for being an Arab, is alone when he arrives, but is soon taken under the wing of Cesar Luciani, the Corsican kingpin, who gives him no choice but to murder a fellow inmate who is about to grass on his cohorts in a big trial. Malik has no choice in the matter: it is kill or be killed.
His preparation for the murder, which involves hiding a razor blade in the roof of his mouth, is unflinching in its realism, and when carried out the murder does not run smoothly. To cap it off, the man Malik kills returns to haunt him during his years in the prison, as he rises through the ranks by forming strategic alliances with each ethnic group, in time displacing Cesar at the top of the tree as his power base crumples around him.
A Prophet is an extraordinary film, which has already been widely described as a classic of the prison genre. Tahar Rahim in his first movie is a revelation as Malik. He arrives into the prison system as a naive and friendless 19-year-old. But he develops during his six years of confinement into an untouchable figure, with influence both inside and outside the wallks, growing in confidence and stature as he learns how to play the prison game.
As Malik’s status rises, Cesar, in a fantastic performance by Niels Arestrup, also seen in previous Jacques Audiard film The Beat That My Heart Skipped, attempts to reassert his authority, but once his closest allies and confidantes are moved back to Corsica to serve out their sentences, the writing is on the wall.
I was sat riveted as I watched this compelling film, with my heart pounding on more than one occasion. It is truly breathtaking, already a genuine contender for one of the films of the year.
A Prophet is showing at the Watershed until February 11. More details here.
