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?

The Past/Le Passé (2013) - Farhadi's masterly drama

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+ Most Under-Appreciated Movie of the Year

 

A serious-toned, information-skimpy poster for Asghar Farhadi's The Past

 

An Iranian man returns to his wife in Paris to finalize their divorce. But their children, her new boyfriend, - and the consequences of all of their decisions that have piled up, - make the finalization harder than initially believed.

Even better then Iranian master writer-director Asghar Farhadi's (The Salesman (2016)) preceding, great A Separation (2011), The Past, his 6th feature, is a potent jawbreaker of a drama. It is thematically rich, centering on issues of guilt, suicide, love, family and responsibility, and dramatically intense. It features first-rate performances from Bérénice Bejo (The Artist (2011)) and Ali Mosaffa (Somewhere Else/Jayi Digar (2003)) and Tahar Rahim (Samba (2014)) as the two men in her life, as well as from Elyes Aguis (Looking for Her/Je Vous Souhaite d'être Follement Aimée (2015)), who plays their boy Fouad incredibly naturally and heartbreakingly.

The Past is full of nerve, SPOILER and especially in its third act, I came to reach the feeling that none of the three adults here, - plagued by immaturity, egotism and flight from their responsibilities as they are, - are really very sympathetic, - but the children involved still command our engagement with the story in spite of this. The adult characters also seem to balance on the edge of seeing themselves a bit from the outside, which we so desperately want them to, so they can grasp what it is they are doing.

The Past is in every way a masterful film; serious and realistic, it is a formidable work.

 

Related posts:

 

Asghar Farhadi: Top 10: Best French movies

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI] 

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

A Separation (2011)/جدایی نادر از سیمین - Farhadi puts Iran on the cinematic world map with a supreme drama

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 8-11 mil. $

Box office: 10.6 mil. $

= Huge flop

[The Past premiered May 17 (Cannes) and runs 130 minutes. It was shot in Paris from October 2012 - January 2013. It is a co-production between no less than 17 companies and institutions. Farhadi wrote the script in Persian and spent two years in France, getting to know the rhythm of the language before filming. However, he still did not speak French and directed the film through a translator. Prior to the lengthy shoot, Farhadi insisted on 2 months of rehearsals. Bejo was cast as a substitute for Marion Cotillard, who dropped out due to commitments on Rust and Bone. The film opened #39 in 3 theaters to a 29k $ opening weekend in North America, where it peaked in 77 theaters and grossed 1.3 mil. $ (12.3 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market was its native France with 7.6 mil. $ (71.7 %), and its 3rd biggest was Italy with 0.6 mil. $ (5.7 %). To many's surprise, The Past was not Oscar-nominated. In Cannes, it won the ecumenical jury prize and the Best Actress prize. It was also nominated for the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe and for 5 César awards (France's Oscar), winning none. The Past is certified fresh at 93 % with an 8.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Past?