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Creating Heroes from Criminals
A Prophet (Un Prophete) explores the evolution of a French-Arab prisoner in modern day France
Tahar Rahim as Malik (Photo: Roger Arpajou © 2008, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
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Few films that focus on the gritty and raw realities of prison life leave viewers rooting for the criminal. However, A Prophet (Un Prophete), the 2009 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Award winner from Sony Pictures Classics, isn’t a garden-variety prison film. Directed by Jacques Audiard, the film follows the story of Malik El Djebena, played with vulnerable skill by newcomer Tahar Rahim. The film opens with Malik, a 19-year-old illiterate, homeless delinquent, starting a six-year prison sentence for assaulting a police officer.
Malik soon learns that the prison is deeply divided with Arabs on one side of the yard and the powerful Corsicans on the other. His heritage, both French and Arab, initially makes it difficult to find a prison identity, so he isolates himself from the other prisoners. Shortly after his arrival, Reyeb, an Arab, is brought into the prison 10 days before testifying in a trial. Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), leader of the Corsicans, notices Reyeb and wants him killed before he can testify.
Soon after, Reyeb propositions Malik in the prison showers, which he loudly refuses. The Corsicans learn of the altercation and that Malik can speak Arabic. They soon confront Malik and order him to befriend Reyeb and kill him, otherwise he’ll be killed. Distraught over his position, Malik goes forward with the plan and brutally kills Reyeb in his cell. This earns him protection from the Corscians and he becomes part of their impenetrable gang.
Over time, Malik becomes an integral part of Cesar’s gang as many members are released after an order by French president Nicolas Sarkozy. He learns how to read and write in French and teaches himself Corsican through his close association with Cesar, who eventually arranges leave periods for Malik so he can carry out various criminal deeds on his behalf. Though he completes each mission, Malik also takes the opportunity to create his own hash smuggling business with the help of Ryad, a former prison inmate and friend.
As the story progresses, Malik’s choices bring him more power, and more danger. His two worlds eventually collide and Malik uses his prison-earned intelligence and an unlikely spiritual influence to help him overcome his obstacles and make it to a life outside his prison cell. Director Jacques Audiard believes it is this contextual dependence that makes the film so interesting.
“The story depicts someone who reaches a position that he could never have attained had he not gone to prison,” Audiard said. “That’s the paradox of this film. Following Malik, we learn that he’s not your usual hooligan. He shows this phenomenal adaptability that allows him to survive and improve his lot in life. Ultimately, it creates this heroic personality that you pull for,” he said.
A Prophet (Un Prophete) will be released by Sony Pictures Classics on Feb. 26, 2010.