Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

A Prophet Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 25, 2010

Winner of the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Jacques Audiard; screen tests; rehearsals; the documentary features "Derriere les barreaux" and "Un prophete a Chatenay"; a conversation with director Jacques Audiard; and trailer. In French, Corsican and Arabic, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The Prophet

Jacques Audiard's A Prohpet is a film about a dangerous journey. In it a young Frenchman of Arab descent, Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim, Inside), enters prison without an identity and after he serves his sentence leaves with one. He undergoes an incredible character transformation, which also changes dramatically the lives of the people he comes in contact with.

The man who triggers the transformation is a brutal Corsican gangster named Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup, Speak to Me of Love). Immediately after Malik enters the prison, Cesar asks for a favor he cannot refuse. Cesar also makes it perfectly clear to Malik that he needs his protection if he is to walk out once his time is up.

Malik does what he is asked to do and earns Cesar's trust. By observing Cesar's men talking about shady deals and murders, he also learns to speak Corsican – which is why Cesar decides to use Malik for a few special jobs. Malik never complains, though he clearly does not enjoy what he is asked to do.

Cesar and his Corsican thugs control the prison, but in it there is also a large Arab gang. The Arabs do not like the Corsicans, but they don’t challenge their superiority because they know that Cesar is a well connected man - he has many powerful friends inside and outside of the prison. The Arabs also do not like the fact that Malik, one of their own, has become one of Cesar's most loyal men. This is why they rarely talk to him.

Because he never fails to deliver, Cesar helps Malik get out of prison for a day. While he is out, Malik meets some of Cesar's men and does a job for them. Then he gets back and reports to Cesar. He also befriends another Arab, Ryad (Adel Bencherif), who agrees to help him sell a large amount of hash once he gets out.

Malik continues to learn from Cesar, even though he routinely reminds him that he is just another "dirty Arab" whose life is more or less predestined. But Malik does not mind - Cesar has made a dreamer of him who can see what no one else can.

A Prophet has spurred some unusually heated debates about prison conditions in France but - as confirmed by director Audiard in one of the special features provided on this disc - it is not a prison film. A Prophet is about a man who breaks free after his freedom is taken away. It is a strange concept for a film, without a doubt, but brilliantly executed.

Something else that is very unusual about A Prophet is the fact that Rahim's character is not the strongest one. In most films, the main character is typically the one that stands above everyone else. In A prophet, it is Arestrup's, a merciless man who everyone fears.

Rahim, however, is a fascinating enigma. A year ago, when I first saw A Prophet, I found myself guessing his actions throughout the entire film. Despite the numerous close-ups with him looking straight into the camera, I could not tell what was going through his mind. I am certain this is one of the key reasons why A Prophet had such a powerful effect on me.

Stéphane Fontaine's cinematography is brilliant. The blending of rapid camera movements and cold colors maintains a sense of truly unbearable and suffocating claustrophobia. Award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack, a wonderful collection of ambient tunes, is also very effective.

Note: In 2009, A Prophet won the prestigious Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, the film also won nine Cesar awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor.

A Prophet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Audiard's A Prophet arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

This is a great high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is terrific, clarity impressive and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is also convincing; the variety of light blues, light greens, dark yellows, cold grays and blacks look terrific in 1080p. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not an issue of concern. Neither are banding or aliasing. I also did not see any signs of heavy denoising. Furthermore, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. There are two scenes early into the film, right before Malik murders his admirer, where I noticed some extremely light background noise, but overall the high-definition transfer is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

A Prophet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French (with portions of Arabic and Corsican) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. A Prophet is a very gritty film, with some excellent ambient effects that add a special flavor to the film - particularly during the second half. This is not to say that there is a tremendous amount of movement in the rear channels, there isn't, but they are indeed used in a very intelligent manner. Similarly, the bass is not overly active, but when it comes alive, it is crisp and punchy. The dialog is clean, stable and easy to follow. There are no balance issues with award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack either. Finally, the English translation is very good. (Note: Even if you are a native French speaker, or fluent in French, you will need to use the optional subtitles to understand what is being said in the film as large portions of the film are in Corsican and Arabic).

The French LPCM 2.0 track is very good. For the majority of the film it matches the dynamic intensity of the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track quite well. The ambient effects I mentioned earlier, however, are practically non-existent on it.

A Prophet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Deleted scenes - a collage of deleted scenes with optional commentary by Jacques Audiard. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min, PAL).

A Prophet - revealed - a wonderful conversation with director Jacques Audiard in which he discusses the message of his film, some of the misconceptions about it, how and why he chose Tahar Rahim to be in his film, etc. In French, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, PAL).

Screen tests - a collage of screen tests with Tahar Rahim. In French, with optional English subtitles. (5 min, PAL).

Rehearsals - a selection of raw scenes. In French and Arabic, with optional English subtitles. (9 min, PAL).

"Derriere les barreaux" from Antonin Peret Jako - a fantastic documentary that chronicles how A Prophete came to exist. In French, with optional English subtitles. (73 min, PAL).

"Un prophete a Chatenay" from Jean-Michel Correia - a trip to Chatenay, a commune in the South-Western suburbs of Paris. Many of the supporting actors in A Prophet are from Chatenay. In French, with optional English subtitles. (24 min, PAL).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (2 min, 1080p).

A Prophet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jacques Audiard's A Prophet is the best film I saw in 2009. It truly is an instant classic! Hopefully, many of you will decide to see it and then add it to your libraries. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment, looks and sounds terrific. It also contains a number of very good supplemental features. It is Region-B "locked" (but Sony Pictures Classics are also releasing A Prophet in the U.S. in August). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.