A Prophet

A Prophet is a French movie starring Tahir Rahim as Malik El Djebena, a nineteen year-old man whose been sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting a police officer. It's clear from the beginning of the movie that Malik has no family or friends in or out of prison. Once inside the prison, Malik is recruited by the Corisican boss, Cesar Luciani, to kill another prisoner that is scheduled to testify against the Corsican crime ring. Once Malik does Cesar's bidding, he is awarded Cesar's protection. The movie focuses on Malik and his relationships with the Corsicans and Arabs in the prison. In the end, Malik must decide with whom his loyalties lies.

This movie is on the top of my gangster movie list. Along the lines of Scarface, Goodfellas, The Godfather, and Casino this movie shows the inner workings of mob life. Even though the movie takes place in a prison, it is clear that the Corsicans run the prison because of their mob connections. They are allowed to attack anyone they want, eat better food, have better clothes, work desirable jobs, and enjoy privileges that the other inmates can only dream of.

The cast of the movie does a tremendous job. Tahir Rahim is a very talented actor who is able to portray the transformation of Malik right in front of the viewers' eyes. Niels Arestrop is also compelling as Luciani. The rest of the cast play their roles to perfection.

I would highly recommend this movie, especially for those of you who love gangster movies. I liked the fact that the movie was in French, I think it added to the movie's rawness. The story and the acting are all superb. A Prophet