In the history of cinema, there have been few genres that have been as thoroughly examined as the gangster movie. Dating to the early days of silent film, when the German expressionists were likely the first true practitioners of the ‘noir’ aesthetic, there have always been a handful of directors who have stood out from the crowd in presenting exciting, stylish and memorable crime cinema. In the annals of American film, many of the greatest directors of the last one hundred years, from Hawks to Tarantino, have all used the template of the criminal code to examine both society and man’s place in it. In France, the influence of the American gangster film has not only been obvious, but celebrated. Director Jean-Pierre Melville’s films, dating from the 1950’s to the 1970’s, have in the past few years been acclaimed far and wide not only for their adherence to the lauded American style, but also for their break from it. Now, in the past decade, we have been introduced to the heir to Melville’s legacy. Jacques Audiard, though not a young man, has directed three of the best crime films of the last ten years, first with Read My Lips, then The Beat That My Heart Skipped, and now, his masterpiece, and the best movie of 2009, A Prophet.

Tahar Rahim gives a tremendous performance as Malik El Djebena, a French Arab who, as an orphaned young man, has been in and out of juvenile detention centers. Not a bad kid, but one without direction, Malik is eventually sentenced to six years in prison. Frightened, he tries to keep out of trouble, but is soon picked by César Luciani (Niels Arestrup), the leader of the Corsican gang that essentially runs the prison, to kill a fellow Arab prisoner, Reyeb, who is also a police informant. Malik is terrified by the proposition, and tries to get out of it, but after Luciani’s thugs beat him up, he eventually goes through with the assassination. He is then granted protection, and slowly ingratiates himself in with the Corsicans.

Here, as often happens in crime films, a layer of societal subtext begins to appear. In France, a century of colonialism has inevitably led to an influx of immigrants into the country. Inevitably, it has also led to an upsurge in xenophobia, which has been used politically by both the right wing and left wing, while the Arabs, Algerians and Africans have begun to claim segments of France as their own. There are few more apt metaphors for a society than inside a prison’s walls, and Audiard deftly allows aspects of these cultural cracks to appear within his film, while never overtly drawing attention to it. Malik, as an Arab, is hated by the Corsicans. The Arabs hate Malik because he is not a practicing Muslim, and they see him as a pet of the Corsicans.

Malik does befriend an Arab named Ryad, who helps to teach the illiterate Malik how to read. Eventually, however, Ryad is released from prison when it’s discovered that he has cancer. Alone, Malik continues to work for Luciani, quietly gaining his trust while also learning more about the criminal activities that Luciani is still involved with beyond the prison walls. Malik, still tortured over his killing a fellow Arab, begins having visions of the man in his sleep, and their conversations also give us an indication of how Malik is beginning to adapt to his surroundings.

After many of Luciani’s cohorts are furloughed, he is forced to take Malik on as a conduit to his work outside the prison walls. It is here where Malik sees how easily he adapts to the world of crime. Much like Michael Corleone, Malik began as an innocent, and through necessity, proves himself a most adept student of the game. Rahim’s performance, while not equal to Pacino’s, which has no equal in the history of film, is revelatory; we can watch as Malik quietly takes in all of what he learns and uses it to his own means. It’s much like seeing a young student with a keen mind for mathematics. While crime is something most of us can’t comprehend, Malik is able to systematically work out all of the angles for himself and, much like that student, eventually proves smarter than his own teacher. Not only is he a ‘prophet’, but a savant.

Audiard’s script, based on Abdel Raouf Dafri’s novel, is a marvel of consistency; while the film is over 150 minutes, and set mostly behind prison walls, the story advances at a steady clip. No words are wasted, and Malik’s chrysalis from wallflower to kingpin is a brilliant study of the sociology of the prison system. After all, what better place is there to learn how to be a criminal when you have a classroom full of them? [DVD] [Blu-Ray]

Crime/Drama

Rated R

France

DVD Release Date: 8/3/10

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