Un prophète 2009

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: A movie that stands with the best prison thrillers from any country; a film that vividly illustrates the connection between prison and the violent, radical form of Islam that keeps much of Europe on edge. Read more

A.O. Scott, At the Movies: A really satisfying, meaty film. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The film never succumbs to the pitfalls of the prison-movie genre, and there's something poetic about how Audiard, in the midst of all this violence, manages to make a punch to the stomach seem like the most violent act of all. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Rahim is an exciting, unpredictable presence, and Arestrup's Cesar has a stature that's nearly Shakespearean. Read more

John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: A Prophet is uncompromising in its style, story and characterizations. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: In Jacques Audiard's haunting prison drama A Prophet, we watch a young man transformed by life behind bars. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Thoroughly absorbing, exciting, even poetic. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: Audiard has talked about the prospects of a sequel to A Prophet. With the foundation he has built here, it would be a welcome one. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: This is a class of movie that operates on a higher plane than its peers. I wrestled with it. But on some level it's here to be wrestled with. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Writer-director Jacques Audiard manages to replicate The Godfather's most elusive element, not the dark comedy or the operatic bloodletting, but the incremental corruption of a decent man into a willful, coldhearted killer. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: A Prophet pushes its protagonist into circumstances he did not choose but in which he watches and learns and kills and eventually becomes all he can be, albeit criminally. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: An object lesson in how prison can serve as a finishing school for crooks. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: A Prophet solidifies director Jacques Audiard's standing as a criminal mastermind whose work leaves genre classifications in the dust. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Audiard never overplays the new experiences facing Malik, be they violent or touching. Yet his tender regard for our complicated hero shines through. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The success of Malik is sheer American dream via France: Anyone can make it if they try hard enough. Make it at what, of course, is always the question. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A quietly stunning saga that won the Grand Prix last year at Cannes and is a worthy Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film... Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: An answered prayer for those who believe that revitalizing classic forms with contemporary attitudes makes for the most compelling kind of cinema. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Jacques Audiard's film, which lasts two and a half hours, maintains an unflagging urgency, stalling only when the double-dealing grows too dense. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Rahim and Arestrup are both so outstanding that if this were an English-language film, they'd probably be nominated for Oscars, too. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/02/26/2010-02-26_short_takes_a_prophet_art_of_the_steal_y Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: Stephane Fontaine's hand-held lensing complements Audiard's in-your-face bravado. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Rahim, with only a few film and TV roles behind him, gives a performance of startling force and subtlety. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: A Prophet is as gripping as any recent film about crime and criminals, although its ill-focused attempts to incorporate elements of the supernatural (prophetic visions and ghostly apparitions) are bizarre and ineffective. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The newcomer Rahim is an enigma. What is he thinking? I believe that's the quality Audiard wants. He's a newly poured man, and when the mold sets, it happens inside. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Director Jacques Audiard scores a triumph of the highest order with the defiant poetry of his vision. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: A highly original film made in a familiar context, and an exciting moviegoing experience you shouldn't miss. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: If his two previous films suggested a director dipping a few toes in dark waters, Un Prophete marks the moment when Audiard took the plunge. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: French director Jacques Audiard's grim, disturbing prison picture slices through gangster cliches to hit raw nerve. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A Prophet is essential viewing for art-film buffs and crime-flick fans, but also for anyone who's looking for a great story, terrific acting and masterful filmmaking. Read more

James Adams, Globe and Mail: Tremendously watchable cinema. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Amidst the gloom, urgently summoning our attention, is one of the most impressive performances of recent times, by relative newcomer Tahar Rahim. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: The sheer force of Audiard's direction can support such enigmas. It forces you, bullies you, persuades you to love his filmmaking style - even if not always to understand his motives. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A Prophet is a compelling piece of naturalistic filmmaking, claustrophobic and thought-provoking. Read more

Rob Nelson, Village Voice: The film is deficient in form and content-not naturalistic so much as neutered, less revisionist than rote. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Although these aren't characters with whom filmgoers will have an instinctive rooting interest, Rahim and Arestrup imbue them with fascinating nuances and, in Rahim's case, surprising vulnerability. Read more