THE PROPHET REVEALS THE POWER STRUCTURE OF INMATES IN A FRENCH PRISON
When The Prophet (Un prophète) begins, nineteen-year-old Malik El Djebena (played by Tahar Rahim) has been arrested, his public defender has bargained him into a guilty plea with six years imprisonment. Although he was in reform school before, this is his first time in prison. The boss among the prisoners, Corsican César Luciani (played by Niels Arestrup) offers Malik protection if he will bump off someone. Malik, who complies and becomes Luciani’s servant, then enjoys better food, clothing, a TV, and a few twelve-hour passes. But Malik, a Corsican Arab, has his own agenda as well, since he has a partner in crime on the outside. Gradually, the power structure changes, as President Nicolas Sarkozy sends most Corsicans back to a prison in Corsica. The Muslims become the overwhelming majority, so Luciani is dethroned. Malik eventually is released, having come of age in a most unusual way. Directed by Jacques Audiard, the film depicts how the underworld in France operates in and out of prison. MH