"Un Prophete" is the Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film from France. Along with "The White Ribbon" from Germany, this is one of the front-runners for the prize, only to be upset by the entry from Argentina.
For me, "Un Prophete" is just an ordinary film about prison life as it focused on the journey of a 19 year-old young man Malik who graduated from juvenile confinement to enter an adult penitentiary as he reached the age of maturity. We see his transition from a virtual nobody to a trusted gofer of a crime lord to a bonafide leader of his own operations.
Unfortunately for me, I thought this process was told in a very long and slow manner. This film unfolds his story very methodically for about 2 and a half hours! Many parts of the film were scenes we have all seen before in previous prison films. There were several promising scenes of a mystical nature which unfortunately led to nowhere. It is not really clear to me why the whole movie was entitled "A Prophet," when there is only one scene in the whole long course of the movie that even mentions it. I also get the feeling that a lot is lost in the translation of the dialog into the English subtitles.
The best feature that elevates this film to the next level above the ordinary prison film is the star-making performance by its young lead actor, Tahar Rahim. Despite his limited acting experience before this, Rahim was able to charismatically convey the growth of his character Malik with all the grit and fervor of a veteran. His riveting and challenging performance deserved to have been nominated for Best Actor in the Oscars!
For me, "Un Prophete" is just an ordinary film about prison life as it focused on the journey of a 19 year-old young man Malik who graduated from juvenile confinement to enter an adult penitentiary as he reached the age of maturity. We see his transition from a virtual nobody to a trusted gofer of a crime lord to a bonafide leader of his own operations.
Unfortunately for me, I thought this process was told in a very long and slow manner. This film unfolds his story very methodically for about 2 and a half hours! Many parts of the film were scenes we have all seen before in previous prison films. There were several promising scenes of a mystical nature which unfortunately led to nowhere. It is not really clear to me why the whole movie was entitled "A Prophet," when there is only one scene in the whole long course of the movie that even mentions it. I also get the feeling that a lot is lost in the translation of the dialog into the English subtitles.
The best feature that elevates this film to the next level above the ordinary prison film is the star-making performance by its young lead actor, Tahar Rahim. Despite his limited acting experience before this, Rahim was able to charismatically convey the growth of his character Malik with all the grit and fervor of a veteran. His riveting and challenging performance deserved to have been nominated for Best Actor in the Oscars!