Word: though
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...diagnosed with testicular cancer. The film takes place in the week leading up to his surgery. It follows his attempts—and failures—to repair the relationships with his kids and wife, who basically think he’s a dick. The film is a comedy though, and there aren’t necessarily a lot of films that take cancer and comedy and put them together...
Directed by Jacques Audiard (“The Beat That My Heart Skipped”), the film follows the six-year sentence of a young, French-Arab man forced to navigate the hierarchy of a jail in present-day France. Though this scenario is seemingly ripe for political commentary, especially given the French government’s recent controversies with Arab immigrants, the only politics present in the film are those of the frightening world of prison. It strays from the spiritualizing of “Shawshank Redemption” while managing to go far beyond the ruthlessness...
...often a convention of film for the newly freed inmate to lead a charmed, rags-to-riches life, though in “A Prophet” the story is of leading a charmed life on the inside. What makes this aspect of the film so good is Rahim’s terrified performance in the lead. Though confident, calculating, and ultimately successful, there are very few moments in the film in which the audience truly believes that he knows what he is doing. Perhaps for some intended parity, there is even a literal deer-in-headlights featured...
What makes “A Prophet” a truly great film, though, is its irreverence, which often crosses into pure magical realism. Characters and scenes are introduced with bold-lettered captions, and the incredible soundtrack has everything from Bob Dylan-sound-a-likes to Nas. The “Prophet” of the title is also intended literally—El Djebena is haunted by his first hit, a fellow Arab, who gives him visions of the future, teaches him about Islam, and smokes with him through his neck wound. It’s as if Murakami...
...only complaint that can be made is simply that the film is, at two and a half hours, too long. At the same time though, nearly every moment is so fascinating and suspenseful that one doesn’t think too much about the time. To the credit of Audiard, it seems as though he truly did need 150 minutes to develop his complex plot and characters. The level of detail in the film almost necessitates a second viewing—if for no other reason than to better appreciate Niels Arestrup’s performance...