Overview
A young man's journey through the brutal realities of prison life reveals the depths of human resilience.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- brooding
- visceral
- paranoid
- serious movie night
- arthouse crime marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an arresting, immediate French gangster drama powered by Tahar Rahim's breakthrough performance and painstaking social realism.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Malik is forced into César Luciani's Corsican criminal network and gradually develops his own methods of survival and influence.
The prison is divided between Corsican rulers and mistrustful Muslim inmates, leaving Malik isolated between both groups.
Malik enters adult prison illiterate and without allies, then learns to use its guards, gangs, debts, and rituals to protect himself.
The specter of Reyeb functions as both a troubling presence and a source of psychological guidance during Malik's incarceration.
Films like A Prophet, and why
Goodfellas
shared prison setting, organized crime hierarchy, moral corruption, and hard-edged social realism
Gomorrah
shared crime drama structure, institutional power struggles, violent criminal apprenticeship, and immersive realism
Starred Up
shared prison violence, psychological pressure, shifting loyalties, and bleak character transformation
Movie Details
- Director
- Jacques Audiard
- Release Date
- 2009-08-26
- Runtime
- 155 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (1787)
Cast
- Tahar Rahim
- Niels Arestrup
- Adel Bencherif
- Reda Kateb
- Hichem Yacoubi
- Jean-Philippe Ricci
- Gilles Cohen
- Pierre Leccia
- Antoine Basler
- Foued Nassah
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Prophet about?
- An illiterate young prisoner survives a Corsican-controlled jail by mastering its criminal economy and building power of his own.
- What is A Prophet like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Prophet as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Prophet violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in A Prophet as graphic.
- What did critics think of A Prophet?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an arresting, immediate French gangster drama powered by Tahar Rahim's breakthrough performance and painstaking social realism.
- Which films are like A Prophet?
- Films with a similar feel include Goodfellas, Gomorrah, and Starred Up.
- How long is A Prophet?
- A Prophet runs 155 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Prophet?
- In United States, A Prophet is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
