its ideas are really good but it ultimately takes the safe route imo.
yes, i get it, prisons don't wash the violence off of you, it adds to the cycle and maybe because i don't know the relationship between arabic people and french people at the time but it all felt pretty standard for a critique on prison systems. i do like the performance of the main villain but i just generally didn't care for him.
the film looks good and most of its performances are good.
A Prophet
Escaping the prison of life.
Rating
2.0 (1)
Release Date
8/26/2009Runtime
155 minsOverview
Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.
Status
ReleasedOriginal Language
FrenchBudget
$13,000,000Revenue
$17,874,044Homepage
-
How It Feels
Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.
A brutally immersive chronicle of a young illiterate man's transformation within prison walls, where survival demands cunning, ruthlessness, and the shedding of innocence. The film locks you inside its claustrophobic world, measuring Malik's rise through small moments of brutal education and hard-won respect.
Mood
ClaustrophobicTenseDefiantBleak
Themes
SurvivalPowerComing of ageCorruptionIdentity
Tone
Earnest
Pacing
Slow-burn
Look
HandheldNaturalistic
Structure
Linear
Heads up
Graphic violenceAddictionRacial violence
Reviews
Recommendations
Ranked by what each one shares with this film, with the reason on every card.
Same director · A similar mood
Same director · Shares cast
Same director
Feels similar
Feels similar
Feels similar
Feels similar
Feels similar
Feels similar
Feels similar
A similar mood
Shares crew · A similar mood
Feels similar
A similar mood
A similar mood
Shares cast · A similar mood
Feels similar
Feels similar
Feels similar
Feels similar