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Prophet, A
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Universal acclaim
Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 52 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Crime | Drama
Written by:
Thomas Bidegain
Jacques Audiard
Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 26, 2010
DVD: August 3, 2010
Running Time: 155 minutes, Color
Origin: France | Italy
Language(s): French | Arabic | Corsican
Summary
RATING: R for strong violence, sexual content, nudity, language and drug material
Starring Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb, Jean-Philippe Ricci, Gilles Cohen, and Antoine Basler
Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read or write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader's confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Time Out New York Joshua Rothkopf
Why do we care? Because never before have the steps to thugdom, as depressing as that destination may be, been so rigorously detailed, neither romanticized nor negated. Don’t miss.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
There's also no romanticizing on the part of the director, who proceeds with calm, unshowy attentiveness (even in the midst of scenes of violence), creating a stunning portrait of an innately smart survivor for whom prison turns out to be a twisted opportunity for self-definition.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal John Anderson
Uncompromising in its style, story and characterizations.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
To borrow a marketing phrase from another, very different film, A Prophet really is the movie that reminds you why you love the movies. Especially movies like this one.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
One of those rare films in which the moral stakes are as insistent and thought through as the aesthetic choices.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
It's a highly original film made in a familiar context, and an exciting moviegoing experience you shouldn't miss.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The best performance in the film is by Arestrup as Cesar. You may remember him from Audiard's "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (2005), where he played a seedy but confident father who psychically overshadows his son.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) James Adams
One caveat: At the risk of sounding sexist, let me say A Prophet is an unreservedly male film. Female characters are few and far between, and when they do appear, they pretty much fall into either one of two categories – les mamans ou les putains.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
If Malik doesn't remind you of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone on his journey from innocence to corruption in "The Godfather" saga, well . . . he should. A Prophet is similarly, startlingly momentous.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
A Prophet is the kind of film that makes you remember why going to the movies can be a thrilling experience.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Calvin Wilson
Essential viewing for art-film buffs and crime-flick fans, but also for anyone who's looking for a great story, terrific acting and masterful filmmaking.
Read Full Review >New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott
More than anything else, however, director Jacques Audiard's gritty, grab-you-by-the-shirtfront film is a mob movie -- a really, really good mob movie. Think "GoodFellas," but with Gauloises and accent aigu instead of plates of spaghetti and accent Pesci.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Long and sometimes grueling, but it never feels indulgent or excessive. In order to be subtle about the horrifying transformation he records, Audiard needs to let it unfold slowly, so that only when we reach the end can we see Malik as a new man who has come unimaginably -- and terribly -- far.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
A Prophet has been compared to American TV series like "Oz" for its episodic plot and large cast, but it’s more like a Gallic "Goodfellas": thoroughly absorbing, exciting, even poetic. It’s a full evening’s entertainment.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
A Prophet pushes its protagonist into circumstances he did not choose but in which he watches and learns and kills and eventually becomes all he can be, albeit criminally. Certainly Muslims living in France have embraced the movie and Malik, played by Rahim
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
It’s imperfect, but it’s daring, bold, and from a director who isn’t scared of anything.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Audiard delivers on and exceeds the promise he evinced in that earlier film, drawing viewers into the densely layered, ruthless ecology of a French prison and, against all odds, making them not mind staying there awhile.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Most prison movies are about escape or survival. A Prophet (Un Prophete) is about the creation of a consciousness. This one, too, could have been called “An Education.”
Read Full Review >Orlando Sentinel Roger Moore
Strip away the French and Arabic subtitles, the French-prison setting and the Muslim-messianic title, and A Prophet, opening Friday at The Enzian, would still be the grittiest prison thriller in years.
Read Full Review >Boxoffice Magazine Richard Mowe
Whether audiences have the stomach for 150 minutes behind bars remains debatable, but there is no denying the persuasive power of a film that takes no prisoners and pulls no punches.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Some have compared this French crime drama to "The Godfather," and though that may be a common critical touchstone, writer-director Jacques Audiard manages to replicate its most elusive element, not the dark comedy or the operatic bloodletting but the incremental corruption of a decent man into a willful, coldhearted killer.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Rahim and Arestrup are both so outstanding that if this were an English-language film, they'd probably be nominated for Oscars, too.
Read Full Review >Empire Andrew Male
A modern French crime epic where the smudges and crossings out do not diminish the passages of great dreamlike power.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Peter Brunette
What's most immediately remarkable about the film is the raw intensity of its hyper-realistic encounters, hugely enhanced by the superb acting of newcomer Rahim.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
If his two previous films suggested a director dipping a few toes in dark waters, Un Prophete marks the moment when Audiard took the plunge.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Rob Nelson
Sold to the global arthouse market as the "French Scorsese," Audiard does know his genre. A Prophet, the director has said, is the "anti-Scarface."
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Anthony Lane
Jacques Audiard’s film, which lasts two and a half hours, maintains an unflagging urgency, stalling only when the double-dealing grows too dense.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
Rahim is an exciting, unpredictable presence, and Arestrup’s César has a stature that’s nearly Shakespearean.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
A compelling piece of naturalistic filmmaking, claustrophobic and thought-provoking.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 52 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
a w gave it a10:
This is a brilliant, deep, subtle, complex film. There was so much hype about LA HAINE back in the 90s. This film much, much better than that film but not getting as much attention. Don't miss seeing this on the big screen. The most powerful, moving cinema experience I've had since 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS. Not to be missed.
joel t gave it a10:
What a thrill ! When the French start to do things their own way and when they do it good... no one match them. I hope many Americans as possible will able to see this masterpiece. Fucking brilliant.
fred r gave it a10:
Naturalistic style perfectly wed to gritty story. Great acting, and a story that progresses beautifully as the character grows into king of this very human and ugly jungle.
Paul G. gave it a10:
A film of this caliber could not have arrived at a better time. Cinema needed quality and it finally arrived in the form of The Prophet.
Robert A. gave it a10:
One of the best films I've seen in theaters since I can remember. This stuff is jaw-droppingly good. From the complex characterization to the surreal visuals to the densely layered story, it is an utterly compelling film. Forget all the mainstream and American films this year. A Prophet is as good as it gets.
Allan G gave it a9:
Rarely have I seen a movie that seemed far longer than two and a half hours yet never dragged and kept me enthralled throughout. Chalk it up to a packed plot, two incredible performances, stunning filmmaking and a great story.
Quincy H gave it a5:
I think it should read, "Malik El Djebena cannot read NOR write". I love the concept of this website, I just want to keep your guys on your editing toes. Thanks for the service.
