A Prophet

Malik is a 19 year old French-Arab sent to prison for some unknown crime that lands him 6 years of time. He is almost immediately initiated into the prison underground structure of favors and protection, finding himself the lapdog of the Corsican mafia. With this beginning, the film is really an investigation of how a young man develops character and identity. Malik navigates impossible choices, race tension, loyalty tests, self preservation and relationship development all with an underlying pragmatic point of view. Maybe existentialism is really the only way to survive in prison. Hope, looking for the future, any sense of control will ultimately leave you disappointed and more broken than before. Tahar Rahim does an excellent job portraying Malik, embracing these tensions largely with body language and facial expressions. He is able to communicate a state of mind in the midst of ugly and graphic violence, the developing of hardness over time, and the core character that must not be shown in prison. And I love that we don't have a tidy resolution foisted upon us after so much struggle. Identity and character creation doesn't happen only in prison, or with young men. It is a lifetime process for everyone. 

5 stars (out of 5)