A Prophet

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A Prophet

R,

2010,

2h 29m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

96%

163 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

163 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

This acclaimed crime drama follows Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), a delinquent young Muslim man, who is struggling to get by in a French prison. When he is taken under the wing of powerful Corsican mob boss Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), he begins performing regular assignments for him, proving himself invaluable to the imposing criminal. As Malik rises in the mob ranks, he gains more power, but also more enemies, a situation that eventually brings conflict with his mentor.

Critics Consensus

Featuring an impressive star turn by newcomer Tahar Rahim, A Prophet is a French gangster film filled with arresting, immediate details.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Aug 30, 2018

Usually, I don't much like films in which males throw violence at any problem that comes their way... But this is such an intensely mature piece of work featuring such intensely mature performances that I was too involved to let it bother me.

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Ed Koch

The Atlantic

Jan 13, 2018

A Prophet is not a fabulous film, but it is well worth seeing. Although it is 2 hours 29 minutes long and its story is not surprising, it is always riveting.

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Amy Taubin

Film Comment Magazine

Jul 12, 2013

But with its lush Alexandre Desplat score, deeply shadowed compositions, and fluid, understated camera movement, A Prophet is distinctly an Audiard construction.

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Belen Prieto

Espinof

Jul 16, 2026

5/5

With its restrained staging, constant tension, and stunning realism, the film has established itself as a landmark of contemporary European cinema and one of the most important works in Audiard's filmography. [Full review in Spanish]

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Michael Leader

Den of Geek

May 7, 2024

4/5

A Prophet is an early contender for 2010's best film. It successfully marries engaging entertainment with art-house sensibilities in a way that few films do of late, maintaining intelligent complexity and thematic richness...

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Jul 19, 2022

A Prophet is not casual entertainment, you have to ready yourself to bear it… overwhelming and at time almost mystical. [Full review in Spanish]

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Albus P

Feb 26, 2019

Unexpectedly graphic

Ron P

Dec 22, 2018

Tahar Rahim is mesmerizing in this breakout role. I loved this movie, so gritty, and yet Tahar brings a degree of humanity to his role.

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Finn S

Jun 18, 2018

A dense experience. My love for Audiard deepens with A Prophet, a subtly subversive gangster flick and character study. We witness the intricacies of criminal networks and the people swallowed up or thrashing for survival in this morally bereft system. It's comprised of story beats we've seen before, but in a more detailed, less melodramatic fashion. The prison setting is not a hindrance but a claustrophobic lair where degenerates operate "within the law."

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Luke R

Feb 17, 2018

this movie was dope. Lotta hustling in prison, and main lead is an Arab, but the movie doesn't lecture us about religious tolerance, etc but we begin to respect Muslim religion and idea of brotherhood toward the end.

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Abraham G

Feb 15, 2018

When he walks out of the prison at the end of the movie, walking with the mother and son of his dead friend, followed by the limos, you know you've just watched a classic movie.

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Rey W

Oct 7, 2017

A nominee in the category of Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and the Golden Globes that reverberates with tenderhearted muscularity in chronicling the survival story of a young petty criminal in the hellacious Darwinian world behind bars.

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Jacques Audiard

Director

Tahar Rahim

Malik El Djebena

Niels Arestrup

César Luciani

Adel Bencherif

Ryad

Reda Kateb

Jordi

Hichem Yacoubi

Reyeb

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Synopsis

This acclaimed crime drama follows Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), a delinquent young Muslim man, who is struggling to get by in a French prison. When he is taken under the wing of powerful Corsican mob boss Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), he begins performing regular assignments for him, proving himself invaluable to the imposing criminal. As Malik rises in the mob ranks, he gains more power, but also more enemies, a situation that eventually brings conflict with his mentor.

Director: Jacques Audiard
Producer: Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat
Screenwriter: Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Chic Films, Celluloid Dreams, UGC Images, Why Not Productions, Page 114, BIM Distribuzione, France 2 Cinéma
Rating: R (Language|Drug Material|Nudity|Sexual Content|Strong Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 26, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.1M
Runtime: 2h 29m

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