FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Jacques Audiard - A Prophet

The center of Un Prophet is a murder - a clumsy and incredibly brutal murder. We see the killer shaking - whether it is out of grief, relief or anger we do not know. This is exactly the key to Jacques Audiard's greatest film: We see something and yet we cannot understand it. Perhaps this is also because we witness extreme violence that is foreign to us. Murderers like the one in Un Prophet live in another world. The film functions as a developmental story of Malik (Tahar Rahim), a young Frenchman with Arabic roots. He goes to prison as a petty criminal and leaves as a certified gangster. He was born as a shy, passive loser; at first, true evil is still foreign to him. All he became, he learned in prison. I can hardly remember ever having seen such a character in a prison film! We don't know why he was sent to prison, we are only witnesses of how he loses his innocence. Behind bars he joins the Corsican gang that controls everything. It is led by Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), a godfather with cold eyes. In prison he is accompanied by bodyguards and has his spies everywhere. The new guy is useful for him, as he has access to the Arab gang. One of them is to be murdered. Basically quite simple: Cesar teaches Malik how to hide a razor blade in his mouth. It is used to cut the victim's throat. If Malik refuses, he dies. Kill or die. Malik's never killed before, and he'll mess up the job. There's a struggle, and everything's covered in blood. But Cesar helps to cover up the crime. Malik's not a "man," but a survivor who does what's necessary. And he's a quick learner. Over the years he changes, takes the chance in prison that he was never given in the outside world. He learns how to monitor, develop a strategy and even how to read. But for the Corsicans, he will always be the "dirty" Arab. But maybe this is exactly the reason why he becomes Cesar's confidant. Mallik can no longer go back to the Arabs. There's no place for him except at Caesar's side. This partnership with Cesar improves not least Malik's own position in prison. One would almost like to see this position as the end of a history of education. Arestrup as Cesar is the event of Un Prophet! In all of Jacques Audiard's films there are these memorable performances, but Cesar surpasses them all! Cesar sees everything, but does not want to be perceived himself. That's why he has to direct and control his aggression. As long as he controls it, he retains the power over life and death. His greatest moments, they are mostly silent. Decisions are made and implemented coldly. And Malik, the new guy? An enigma. We don't know what he thinks, can't even guess. It's probably the quality Audiard wanted to achieve. Nothing gets out of him and hiding feelings is Cesar's most important lesson for Malik. Here Audiard follows on from the stylized gangster classics of the 60s. This is unfashionable in the best sense of the word, because far too many films want to force on us what the protagonists are thinking and why. But how much more fascinating is it to grope in the dark? Malik? He's ready to kill. We can only judge him by his actions. But that makes it scary, because a killer without motives is only all the more terrifying. Malik was once someone who cared about life. But all that changes during his bloody act in prison. Now he's ready for the streets...