A Prophet/Un Prophète (2009) - Searing performances in Audiard's disheartening prison thriller

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+ Best Crime Thriller of the Year + Best French Movie of the Year + Best Gangster Movie of the Year + Best Prison Movie of the Year

 

A gun-toting Tahar Rahim looks dangerous on this rather stressful poster for Jacques Audiard's A Prophet

 

Just 19 years old and of Algerian background, our protagonist Malik gets a 6-year prison sentence, and soon after his incarceration he is given a fearsome task: Committing a murder. 

 

A Prophet is written by Thomas Bidegain (Stillwater (2021)), Abdel Raouf Dafri (Gibraltar (2013)), Nicolas Peufaillit (Sous X (2015)) and co-writer/director Jacques Audiard (See How They Fall/Regarde les Hommes Tomber (1994)). The English title is a literal translation of the original French title.

Horrible, realistic and intense, the first half of Audiard's celebrated prison thriller also leaves space for glimpses of the internal lives for its criminal elements, - and A Prophet has the year's best/most horrific murder scene (murder by razorblade.) There are grand performances from Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian (2021)) in the lead and from Niels Arestrup (At Eternity's Gate (2018)) as the merciless Corsican gangster boss who takes him under his wing in prison.

SPOILER The ending is somewhat unsatisfactory, as one after such an epic sojourn longs for something more finished, and possibly hopeful, than what we are dealt here. Instead our hero ends up a criminal leader himself, which is more than a bit disheartening, especially held up against the film's title. Despite the strong performances and visual power (the cinematography is by Stéphane Fontaine (Samba (2014))), the deeper meaning of this expansive work remains unclear, except for the fact that it inevitably gives insight into the French underworld and the country's massive problems with criminal immigrants. 

Related post:

Jacques Audiard: Rust and Bone/De Rouille et d'Os (2012) - Cotillard gives another awe-inspiring performance

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

 

 

Watch a one-minute clip from the film's Cannes red carpet premiere here

 

Cost: 13 mil. $

Box office: 17.8 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.36 times its cost)

[A Prophet premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 155 minutes. At least 17 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and making of the film. Shooting took place in Paris, France. The film opened #34 to a 163k $ first weekend in 9 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #25 and in 83 theaters (different weeks), grossing 2 mil. $ (11.2 % of the total gross). France was the film's biggest market with 10.3 mil. $ (57.9 %); North America was the 2nd biggest, and UK was the 3rd biggest with 1.5 mil. $ (8.4 %). The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, lost to The Secret in Their Eyes/El Secreto de Sus Ojos from Argentina. It won a BAFTA, was nominated for a Goya, was nominated for a Golden Globe, won 9/13 César award nominations, was nominated for a David di Donatello award, won a National Board of Review award, the Jury Prize at Cannes (the Palme d'Or was lost to Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon), won 2/6 European Film award nominations, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Audiard returned with Raphaël Live Vu Par Jazques Audiard (2011, video) and theatrically with Rust and Bone/De Rouille et d'Os (2012). Rahim returned in You Never Left (2010, short) and theatrically in The Eagle (2011); Arestrup in Suite Noire (2009, TV-series) and theatrically in Farewell/L'Affaire Farewell (2009). A Prophet is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of A Prophet?

Mesrine: Killer Instinct + Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1/Mesrine: L'Instinct de Mort + Mesrine: L'ennemi public n°1 (2008) - Epic Cassel gangster extravaganza

Following are reviews of the two-part movie Mesrine, known individually as Killer Instinct and Public Enemy No. 1 a.k.a. Public Enemy No. 1 part 1 and part 2.

This is the true story of French gangster Jacques Mesrine's life from his time in the Foreign Legion in the Algerian War in 1959 up until his violent death in 1979.

Part I: Mesrine: Killer Instinct/Mesrine: L'Instinct de Mort

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Vincent Cassel is the persuasive front man for Jean-François Richet's Mesrine double feature

Jacques Mesrine is shown as a cynical killer from the first scene from his time in the Algerian War, perhaps the last of the decolonization wars. Later on back in France, Mesrine eagerly blames his parents and especially his father while ditching an honest job offer to be a murderous criminal for local gangster boss Guido (a convincing Gerard Deperdieu (United Passions (2014))). Estranging his wife through violence, escaping to Canada, kidnapping and getting arrested in the US are some of the later plot points, before Mesrine and his partner are put in a high-security penitentiary. 

The third act revolves around the escape from this facility, and an unfortunate, following incident that causes Mesrine and partner to conclude that it's now either 'escape or die', as the first movie ends. Both films are written by Abdel Raouf Dafri (A Prophet/Un Prophète (2009)), the first one based on Jacques Mesrin's autobiography L'Instinct de Mort.
Though I approached this unusual, huge, French gangster epic with some hesitance, I was lured in fairly quickly by the performances of Depardieu and especially Vincent Cassel (Ocean's Twelve (2004)), whose performance as the title lead in the two films is constant, incredibly intense and equally ruthless, a portrayal of a megalomaniacal, charismatic, brute macho psychopath. Cassel is what really kept me engaged.
The production by Thomas Langmann  (The Artist (2011)) is impeccable technically; from period costumes to cars, localities, colors, the snappy editing and especially Robert Gantz' (White Collar (2012-13)) photography, which is done with skill, vision and an abundance of energy and time, it seems. Gantz comes from American TV (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and many  later shows) and a few films, (Mindhunters (2004) and Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)), and he certainly knows how to shoot action and suspense scenes.
The effective score is by Marco Beltrami (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)) and Marcus Trumpp (Die Hard 4.0 (2007)).
It is clear that director Jean-François Richet (Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)) has decided it desirable to get as much of Mesrine's incredible criminal life in the films as possible, thereby stacking his pancake-tower sometimes a bit too high, and perhaps losing some opportunities for closer looks at single incidents. But overall, L'Instint de Mort is a very exciting film and a refreshing and bold mega-production that proves that Europe (here actuality France, Italy and Canada in a co-production) is not falling behind Hollywood in quality.
Both films start out with a text (almost a disclaimer of sorts) basically saying that what you'll see is true, but just don't take anything for granted. This seems to me a smart and understandable way to introduce and approach a project like the Mesrine films.
The title L'Instinct de Mort is not explained before the second film, where it is revealed that Mesrine writes a book of some of his crimes (and supposedly made up ones) with the same title.

Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1/Mesrine: L'ennemi public n°1

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Vincent Cassel reportedly gained 20 kilos to play Mesrine - and it doesn't go unnoticed

The second movie starts by showing us where and how Mesrine is finally killed in 1979.
We then regress some 7 years back to see him caught again in France and tried, writing a book to gain popularity, and again he manages to escape, this time from the courtroom. As more and more robberies and escapes follow, the French police and prison guards look increasingly incompetent and idiotic, and the film loses pace. It is unclear why we witness so much repetition, and also what Mesrine actually needs to do so many heists for. We never see him spend some of all the money, and any aim with the escapades seem elusive at best.
Until he is caught again.
He then spends 5 years in jail and reunites with his daughter in one of the few downright bad scenes in the films: The young actress sheepishly smiles and tries her best in the interview with her mass-murdering, neglectful father. Where was the director, one wonders.
With a new partner, the quiet, cautious Besse (Matheiu Amalric (The Blue Room/La Chambre Bleue (2014))), Mesrine again escapes, but their paths veer, as Besse wants to be rich in quiet, while Mesrine now sees it as his mission to get all high-security jails closed by murdering judges, kidnapping billionaires and using bazookas.
A plotline with a kidnapped billionaire fizzes out without any real conclusion as to what is done with him. Besse and Mesrine have an amusing escape in a trunk in the countryside before splitting up.
Mesrine then becomes closer aligned with a radical left wing terrorist, and he murders a reporter he doesn't like.

The ending is, unfortunately, terribly drawn out and completely lacking in suspense or thematic weight, as we already know how Mesrine will be killed, and the mise-en-scene lets us know way in advance that now is the time.
Unfortunately, the second film is not at level with the first one. Scenes are dramatically lost, and the long, pointless ending is a shame. The film is also longer than the first one, passing 2 hours, without any good reason for it.
In fact, the reason that the two films never score higher is to some degree that the format of slicing one story up in two films is usually not advantageous, and certainly isn't here: Mesrine should definitely have been one approximately  2 and a half hour long film. It is dramatically unsatisfying not to have an ending to the first film, and the development in the second is thin, mostly just covering more and more crimes and escapes.
Nevertheless, both films are incredibly well-produced and a joy for anyone with a sense of craftsmanship. None of the action or big scenes are restricted from being done in real life and instead plotted in as CGI. It is first rate production-wise, and Cassel gives perhaps his career's best performance as villainous Mesrine.

Related posts:

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

 

Watch a German dubbed trailer for the film here

Cost: 50 mil.$
Box office: Reportedly 46.3 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.92 times its cost)
[Mesrine Part I premiered 11 September (Toronto International Film Festival, Ontario) and Part II 22 October (Tokyo International Film Festival) and the films run 113 and 133 minutes, respectively. The film was made as a cooperation of 17 companies and support bodies. Shooting took place in Spain, Algeria, France, including Paris, in Utah and Québec, Canada, from May 2007 - January 2008. The first part opened #37 to a 152k $ first weekend in 28 theaters in North America, where it spread to 34 theaters but didn't achieve a higher ranking and grossed 551k $. The second film opened #45 to a 74k $ first weekend in 31 theaters and grossed 275 in North America. Numbers are underreported for especially the second film. The first film was biggest in main production country France with 18.1 mil. $ and Russia with 2.5 mil. $. The film won 3/10 César award nominations. Richet returned with One Wild Moment/Un Moment d'Égarement (2015). Cassel returned with a voice performance in Lascars (2009) and physically in Adrift/À Deriva (2009). Mesrine Part I is certified fresh at 81 % with a 7.37/10 critical average and Mesrine Part II is certified fresh at 82 % with a 7.25/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1?