A Prophet details

A Prophet
Formats: 18 DVD, Blu-ray
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb, Gilles Cohen
Director: Jacques Audiard
Genres: Drama - General, World Cinema - French
Studio: ELEVATION
Original title Un prophete
Collections: 2011's Top Films, Award Winners, Banged Up, Behind Bars, Best of London Film Festival, Decades: 00s, Festival Favourites, French Thrillers
Name Discs
A Prophet
18 Feature

DVD Information

Run time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Rental release: 07 Jun 2010
Main languages: French
Subtitles: English
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LOVEFiLM Review A Prophet

  • 4.5 stars out of 5  

    By Tom Charity from LOVEFiLM

    This gripping French prison drama comes highly recommended...

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Most helpful review A Prophet

  • A Prophet

    Rated - 5.0 stars  
    By JuneMong (2 reviews) from London , 23 Jan 2010

    [Highly rated reviewer]

    Not just one of the best gangster films I've seen in a decade but one of the best films. Period. Niels Arestrup is excellent as the Corsican kingpin Cesar Luciani. Newcomer Tahar Rahim impresses at all levels as Maghrebin Malik El Djebena, who has the street intelligence of a young man with an innate sense of survival, with restraint and realism. Malik perpetrates enough violence to survive but never any more than he needs. He also straddles the ethnic rivalries and racism between the Italians, the Egyptians, the Maghrebin, the Corsicans etc and comes out on top. Director Jacques Audiard first got the idea for this film when he showed his 2008 film The Beat My Heart Skipped in a French prison & was appalled by the conditions he saw there. His previous films: A Self Made Hero, Read My Lips, The Beat My Heart Skipped. Must see!
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All reviews

(292)
  • Good but overlong.

    Rated - 3.0 stars  
    By gingerspike (410 reviews) from Grimsby , 15 Feb 2013
    Another good French film, this time in the form of a prison drama. It's certainly a good film with good direction but I felt it was a little too long. I started to lose interest in a couple of places but luckily stayed with it as the last 45 minutes or so were excellent. On the whole, a compelling story, littered with lashings of violence.
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  • Top Movie

    Rated - 4.0 stars  
    By Bungalow (10 reviews) from Petersfield , 28 Jan 2013

    [Highly rated reviewer]

    We watched this on recommendation not knowing what to expect. Its not for the faint hearted or squeamish and is a film about PEOPLE IN PRISON, so no fluffy edges!! We watched in 2 sittings as we didn't realise it was 2hrs 35 mins but I think this helped to appreciate it. The story is quite hard to follow in parts with the subtitles but this does not detract from making it a truly brilliant piece of cinema. The casting is superb as are the perfomances, especially the lead and the 'cesar' character. Great story too though it does take a leap of faith to accept the prisoners run the place quite so much. Highly recommended but prepare yourself!
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  • I predict a winner

    Rated - 4.0 stars  
    By GordonVader (106 reviews) from Emerald City, oz , 14 Jan 2013

    [Highly rated reviewer]

    ok so I have decided in my infinite wisdom to review every single film i have ever seen on love film... Currently still on the letter 'A' (don't ask) So A prophet. Well as the other reviews here demonstrate, this film's a modern classic and could be used to teach story-telling to film students... The script, the cast everything is topnotch...
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  • compelling, well-acted but over long

    Rated - 4.0 stars  
    By a customer , 04 Jan 2013
    I avoided watching this DVD for a month thinking it would be worthy but dull. With nothing better to do one evening I finally got around to putting it on and was glad I did. Instantly compelling, excellent and realistic acting - especially from the lead, beautiful directing of an ugly situation, a harsh but creative movie. I wouldn't advise watching it if you're feeling a bit low, though! Also it's way too long. Two and a half hours is just unwieldy and it could easily have been nipped and tucked and not lost any of its impact. Definitely worth a look if you have time to devote to it.
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  • Master piece

    Rated - 5.0 stars  
    By a customer , 29 Dec 2012
    Absolutely stunning cinema - so well made and directed. Really really tight in its execution you are on the edge of your seat fearing what might happen next and where it might lead to. To carry that tension and expectation through the whole film is very impressive. Clever acting delivers a master piece. Truly more that I ever expected. One of the best films I've seen.
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