Oscar-nominated ‘A Prophet (Un Prophet)’ earns status as legendary crime saga

A Prophet (Un Prophète)

Starring: Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup

Starring: Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup

Directed by: Jacques Audiard

Sony Pictures Classic

Grade: A

If you’re a fan of crime films like “The Godfather” trilogy or “Scarface” and don’t mind reading subtitles, Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet” is sitting there, waiting for you.

A raw, gritty and sometimes surreal picture of organized crime behind French prison bars, “A Prophet” rejects the cliche while paying homage to it simultaneously. Just as those mobster classics of yore had their own famous moments and scenes, “A Prophet” writes its own magnificent set to be placed into the vaults of cinematic history.

Malik El Djebena finds himself in prison, stuck between the Arab and the Corsican mafias in the jail yard, after being sentenced for six years for an unknown crime. Malik, played by Tahar Rahim, uses his fast wits and street smarts to get through his time without trouble, but is slowly drawn into the Corsican mafia by Cesar Luciani.

Cesar, played by the brilliant Niels Arestrup, doesn’t completely embody the mobster persona like Marlon Brando does as Don Corleone. Cesar’s most important quality is his age — he’s old. He’s a dying breed. How the mafia of the past handles its business in no way competes with what the Arabs are pulling off outside. While they’re sitting around large dinners and enjoying the perks of power, the Arabs are making the drug shipments on time, the friends they need and the loads of money that come with the business.

But when Cesar receives an order from the outside Corsican boss, Jacky Marcaggi, to kill a rat who’s serving a temporary stay at the prison, he enlists Malik to do the deed since he already has an in to the secluded whackee — if Malik gives sexual favors, he’ll give hash.

After solidifying his place within the Coriscans, initially as the Arab servant boy, Malik enrolls in the prison’s school to learn how to read and write. During his studies, he meets Ryad, an Arab gang member who furthers Malik’s reading skills.

“A Prophet” makes prison seems like elementary school for plenty of the film — the cliques, the bullies, the immaturity, it’s all there. Early in the film, while Malik is adjusting to prison life, so is the audience.

Later, when Cesar’s crew transfers to prisons closer to their homelands leaving the mafioso alone, Malik begins to assemble his own crew with his new friend Ryad and the gypsy drug dealer, Jordi.

Soon, Cesar arranges Malik’s temporary leaves from jail so that he can do work for the prisoner. But unbeknownst to Cesar, Malik is putting together his own business while doing Cesar’s work on his visits to the outside.

Malik’s rise to the top symbolizes the American dream — it’s just taking place in France. A strange mixture of smarts, luck and good timing contribute to his successes. He’s lucky (or cursed, perhaps) that the Arab he has to first kill finds Malik attractive enough to ask for head in the showers. His timing is perfect in revealing the right information at the right time to the right people.

But best perhaps seems to be Malik’s ambiguous consciousness — after finishing his first hit, the ghost of the victim hangs around with Malik in his cell for the duration of his prison stay, delivering advice and warnings alike.

The film is beautifully chopped together, without getting too full of itself. Even though it runs a little over two and a half hours, “A Prophet” makes every single scene count. The violence itself is minimal, but when it happens it leaves a lasting mark.

Arestrup’s performance of Cesar makes you wonder if a crime film about that character alone wouldn’t have been just as fantastic. Watching his power slowly bleed away makes you want to see his beginnings all the more.

“A Prophet” mimics a “Godfather”-like rise to power within the walls of prison. The stereotypical mafia gangster can no longer prevail in today’s world. It’s time for new blood, like the nobody Malik, to take the screen and deliver realistic, criminal grit.