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A Prophet

The 21st Century’s 100 greatest films (BBC)

7.5

25,300

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Original title: Un prophète
Year: 2009
Running time: 150 min.
Country: France
Director: Jacques Audiard
Screenwriter: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain. Idea: Abdel Raouf Dafri
Music: Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography: Stéphane Fontaine
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Hichem Yacoubi, Jean-Philippe Ricci, Gilles Cohen, Pierre Leccia, Antoine Basler, Foued Nassah, Jean-Emmanuel Pagni, Frederic Graziani, Leïla Bekhti, Alaa Safi
Producer: Why Not Productions, Chic Films, Page 114, France 2 Cinema, UGC Images, BIM Distribuzione, Celluloid Dreams, Canal+, Cinecinema
Genre: Thriller. Drama | Prison Drama. Crime
Synopsis: Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read not write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of “missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans.

Rankings Position

#63 Best French Movies of all time
#83 Best Thrillers in the history of film
#106 Best Crime Movies
#119 Best Movies of the 21st century

Awards: 2009: Nominated for Oscar: Best Foreign Language Picture

2009: Nominated for Golden Globe: Best Foreign Language Picture

2009: Cannes Film Festival: Jury Prize

2009: BAFTA Awards: Best Foreign Languaje Film

2009: European Film Awards: Best Actor, Award excelencia (Sound). 6 Nominations

2009: 9 Awards Cesar, including Best Movie, Director and Actor (Tahar Rahim)

Show 7 more awards

2009: Independent Spirit Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film

2010: Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor (Niels Arestrup)

2010: Chicago Film Critics Awards: Best Foreign Language Film. 2 Nominations

2010: British Independent Film Awards (BIFA): Best International Independent Film

2009: David di Donatello Awards: Nominated for Best European Film

2009: Sevilla Film Festival: Audience Award

2010: Goya: Nominated for Best European Film

Critics' reviews

"The masterful 'A Prophet,' is an answered prayer for those who believe that revitalizing classic forms with contemporary attitudes makes for the most compelling kind of cinema"

Kenneth Turan: Los Angeles Times
"Director Jacques Audiard scores a triumph of the highest order with the defiant poetry of his vision. A Prophet is a new crime classic (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"

Peter Travers: Rolling Stone
"What's most immediately remarkable about the film is the raw intensity of its hyper-realistic encounters, hugely enhanced by the superb acting of newcomer Rahim"

Peter Brunette: The Hollywood Reporter
"Thoroughly absorbing, exciting, even poetic. It’s a full evening’s entertainment."

Noel Murray: AV Club
"A tough, absorbingly intricate account of a young French-Arab thug's improbable education behind bars."

Justin Chang: Variety
"A modern French crime epic where the smudges and crossings out do not diminish the passages of great dreamlike power (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Andrew Male: Empire
"Compelling and immensely watchable though 'A Prophet' is, I can't help feeling it misses the concise edge of previous Audiard films"

Jonathan Romney: Screendaily
"[A] gripping and thrilling picture; it has the rangy, anecdotal feel of something drawn from real life, but its realism somehow accommodates an eerie supernatural shimmer (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"

Peter Bradshaw: The Guardian

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Ranking Lists Position

14 My Top 10 Movies from 2009 (315)
16 My Favorite French Movies (109)
70 Little Gems: Little Known Movies I've Discovered (49)
88 Movies I Want to Watch (old releases) (2906)

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