Film: Un Prophète
Director: Jacques Audiard
Country: France
Released: May 2009
Runtime: 155 minutes
Genre: Gangster Movie
Studio: Why Not Productions
Influenced: Jean-François Richet, Xavier Dolan, Denis Villeneuve, Mia Hansen-Løve, David Michôd
Jacques Audiard was the son of renowned French screenwriter and director Michel Audiard, but didn't initially pursue a career in filmmaking, instead studying literature at the Sorbonne. After graduating, he worked at various jobs within the French film industry, and his directorial debut came with the film Regarde les Hommes Tomber in 1994. Subsequent films like Sur Mes Lèvres (2001) solidified his reputation as a unique and compelling filmmaker, but it was 2005 film De Battre Mon Cœur S'est Arrêté that propelled Audiard to international attention. His next film, Un Prophète (A Prophet), was inspired by Audiard's experiences working with young detainees in a French prison. Co-written by Audiard and Thomas Bidegain, the screenplay is based on an original idea by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit. Initial development was slow, with the French director taking several years to refine the script and find the right actors. In the film, Audiard blends elements of the crime thriller, coming-of-age story and gangster drama to create a unique and engaging cinematic experience.
Un Prophète follows the story of Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), a young French-Algerian man sentenced to six years in prison for a petty crime. Initially illiterate and inexperienced, Malik becomes embroiled in the complex power dynamics within the prison walls. Over the course of his sentence, Malik becomes involved in various criminal activities and alliances, navigating the intricate relationships between different ethnic groups and gangster factions. He gets drawn into a Corsican mafia power struggle and becomes the protégé of César Luciani (Niels Arestrup), forced to do the bidding of this brutal and ruthless gangster. Malik uses his intelligence and ruthlessness to rise through the ranks, while also experiencing spiritual awakenings, including recurring dream sequences and symbolic imagery that provide insight into Malik's psyche. Faced with difficult choices and escalating violence, Malik must decide where his loyalties lie and what future he desires.
One of Audiard's many achievements with the film was reinventing the gangster movie for 21st century audiences. The movie has a level of naturalism that is unique to the genre, with many of the prison sequences filmed in a real, decommissioned prison in Northern France. The film used former inmates as extras, contributing to its authentic portrayal of prison life, while Tahar Rahim had little acting experience before the film but gained widespread acclaim for his performance. Audiard's direction is both brutal and lyrical, capturing the harsh realities of prison life while also injecting moments of beauty and introspection, like the use of birds as a metaphor for freedom and escape. Over the extensive runtime, the director also makes use of flashbacks to keep the audience on their toes and add depth to Malik's character development. The film incorporates multiple languages, reflecting the diverse cultural backgrounds of the characters, and explores issues of identity and cultural clashes within the prison setting, which serve as a metaphor for the challenges of integration within wider French society.
Un Prophète was a critical sensation, winning the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2009 and five European Film Awards, as well as being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at both the Oscars and BAFTAs. The film's title was originally going to be Jesucristo, but Audiard ultimately decided on Un Prophète to avoid religious connotations. In French, a "prophète" can be somebody who simply foresees the future. Malik's transformation from a vulnerable outsider to a powerful player verges on the miraculous, and his journey can be seen as a metaphor for the struggle for survival and meaning within oppressive systems. The film raises complex questions about morality, redemption and the cyclical nature of violence, and its ambiguous ending leaves viewers pondering the possibility of true change within a corrupt world. Audiard would continue to explore life for those on the margins of French society with subsequent unflinching films such as De Rouille et d'Os (2012) and Dheepan (2015).
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