Movies

Prison movies probably find it easier to tell complicated moral tales while generating empathy for their characters. I mean, what would you do if you were a skinny teenager and a bunch of homicidal bullies presented you with a murderous to-do list and you had time to kill (or be killed; it's cliche but let's face it)? That is Malik's (Tahar Rahim) dilemma. Convicted of assaulting a police officer and sentenced to six years' imprisonment, the 19-year-old Arab-Corsican seems quite unprepared for the adult prison he's been thrust into. And the Corsican gang that all but runs the French prison is intent on exploiting the young man's vulnerability. While Malik is compliant, Cesar (Niels Arestrup), the leader of the Corsican inmates, hasn't counted on the resourcefulness of the young man the Corsicans deride as a "dirty Arab". They've also underestimated the extent to which Malik is prepared to compromise himself to save his own life. The resulting narrative is an intriguing exposition of how Malik navigates his Arab identity, guilt, competing allegiances, and criminal dynasties to further his own ends. Thankfully for us, the journey could hardly be described as smooth sailing. Directed by Jacques Audiard, this is not a pretty film to watch but it is captivating and has no difficulty drawing in an audience to identify with Malik. The photography is stark and much of the violence is graphic, but it's purposeful, eliciting genuine emotional responses. Razor blades have that effect. In some respects "A Prophet" has much in common with "The Godfather" in the sense that it tells the story of a young up-and-coming criminal trying to find his own way in the world. But "A Prophet" is much more refined in scope and more neatly packaged than a Francis Ford Coppola box set. Two-and-a-half hours is a long time to be sitting in the dark reading English subtitles, but "A Prophet" tells an engrossing, morally complex story and the performances are utterly convincing.