One very striking scene in the gritty and kinetic A Prophet (Un prophète), Jacques Audiard’s masterful portrayal of the harrowing life in a French prison, shows Malik El Djebena, a young Arab convict, gazing into an abyss of clouds rolling in the sky from his plane seat. It’s an irony – and even a prophecy – that he’s 10,000 feet above ground, far from the dark and grotesque underbelly that bestializes criminals, rather than reforms them. The childlike wonder on Malik’s face suspends, for an ethereal moment, his real self – a vicious brute who’s spent the last five years of his life serving as a hitman and dealer for the prison’s Corsican warlord.

Malik, excellently portrayed by 28-year-old Tahar Rahim, is granted a day’s respite from jail as arranged for by his boss, Cesar Luciani (veteran French actor, Niels Arestrup), the most powerful prisoner. Luciani’s ties with the jail guards and his close connection with the Corsican mafia has granted him immunity and a godhead status within the prison walls. Malik’s day off is no vacation, though. Instead, he executes crimes even more heinous than the actual felony for which he’s serving time. Malik’s loyalty and obedience has secured him protection by Luciani and his gang, but ties strain when Malik uncovers the truth behind his dreadful, first hit. Befriending another Arab inmate also opens Malik’s eyes to the shifting racial hierarchy in the slammer.

A Prophet (Un prophète) is Audiard’s follow-up to his delightful indie gem, The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005). The film is being hailed by critics, bloggers, and fans alike as The Godfather of this generation. The parallels do abound, but what sets A Prophet (Un prophète) distinctly apart from Coppola’s timeless classic is its poignant depiction of a new breed of mafia from the unlikeliest dominion. The amplified rivalry among various ethnic groups highlighted with the confined setting of a French penitentiary brings the film its relevance and power. Audiard and co-writer Thomas Bigedain narrate the story with fluidity and virility blatant in the crime genre, but it’s the magisterial development of Malik’s character that pulses at the heart of the film.

Rahim transforms the Malik character so flawlessly, from an illiterate juvenile sent to jail for a petty offense to overtaking the zenith of the prison strata. It’s his first top-billed role, and yet Rahim carries the film like a pro, efficient in drawing audience empathy for his sinister character. Arestrup’s portrayal of the merciless Luciani is equally compelling. Collaborating with Audiard for the second time, Arestrup’s performance tips the scale of the mentor/protégé dynamic with his calm brutality toward Malik. Other outstanding performances shine with a slew of Arab actors, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Slimane Dazi, and their Corsican counterparts, Jean-Philippe Ricci, Gilles Cohen, and Jean-Emmanuel Pagni.

A Prophet (Un prophète) has raked in accolades by the heap, beginning with the prestigious Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes 2009 where it first premiered. The National Board of Review and British Academy of Film and Television Arts has awarded it Best Foreign Film awards, and on March 7^th, it will compete for the same title at the Oscars. That’s not counting the numerous screenplay, acting, and directing awards it’s won at the biggest international film festivals. Its title, foretelling as it sounds, may be bringing in all this triumph, but A Prophet (Un prophète) is indeed a clear heavyweight with a story so prolifically captured in a visual style only an auteur like Jacques Audiard can pull off. By breaking cultural borders and aggrandizing society’s lowest citizens, the film turns mafia wars into a whole new ballgame.

Rating: 5/5
Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Written by: Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bigedain
Story by: Abdel Raouf Dafri
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Hichem Yacoubi, Jean-Philippie Ricci, Gilles Cohen, Slimane Dazi
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Genre: Crime, Noir

U.S. Release Date: February 26 (limited)

*Photos by Sony Pictures Classic