Prophet, A

Time Out New York Joshua Rothkopf

Why do we care? Because never before have the steps to thugdom, as depressing as that destination may be, been so rigorously detailed, neither romanticized nor negated. Don’t miss.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

There's also no romanticizing on the part of the director, who proceeds with calm, unshowy attentiveness (even in the midst of scenes of violence), creating a stunning portrait of an innately smart survivor for whom prison turns out to be a twisted opportunity for self-definition.

Wall Street Journal John Anderson

Uncompromising in its style, story and characterizations.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

To borrow a marketing phrase from another, very different film, A Prophet really is the movie that reminds you why you love the movies. Especially movies like this one.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

One of those rare films in which the moral stakes are as insistent and thought through as the aesthetic choices.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A new crime classic.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

It's a highly original film made in a familiar context, and an exciting moviegoing experience you shouldn't miss.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The best performance in the film is by Arestrup as Cesar. You may remember him from Audiard's "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (2005), where he played a seedy but confident father who psychically overshadows his son.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) James Adams

One caveat: At the risk of sounding sexist, let me say A Prophet is an unreservedly male film. Female characters are few and far between, and when they do appear, they pretty much fall into either one of two categories – les mamans ou les putains.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

If Malik doesn't remind you of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone on his journey from innocence to corruption in "The Godfather" saga, well . . . he should. A Prophet is similarly, startlingly momentous.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

A Prophet is the kind of film that makes you remember why going to the movies can be a thrilling experience.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Calvin Wilson

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.

New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott

More than anything else, however, director Jacques Audiard's gritty, grab-you-by-the-shirtfront film is a mob movie -- a really, really good mob movie. Think "GoodFellas," but with Gauloises and accent aigu instead of plates of spaghetti and accent Pesci.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Long and sometimes grueling, but it never feels indulgent or excessive. In order to be subtle about the horrifying transformation he records, Audiard needs to let it unfold slowly, so that only when we reach the end can we see Malik as a new man who has come unimaginably -- and terribly -- far.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

A Prophet has been compared to American TV series like "Oz" for its episodic plot and large cast, but it’s more like a Gallic "Goodfellas": thoroughly absorbing, exciting, even poetic. It’s a full evening’s entertainment.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

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. Certainly Muslims living in France have embraced the movie and Malik, played by Rahim

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

It’s imperfect, but it’s daring, bold, and from a director who isn’t scared of anything.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Audiard delivers on and exceeds the promise he evinced in that earlier film, drawing viewers into the densely layered, ruthless ecology of a French prison and, against all odds, making them not mind staying there awhile.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Most prison movies are about escape or survival. A Prophet (Un Prophete) is about the creation of a consciousness. This one, too, could have been called “An Education.”

Orlando Sentinel Roger Moore

Strip away the French and Arabic subtitles, the French-prison setting and the Muslim-messianic title, and A Prophet, opening Friday at The Enzian, would still be the grittiest prison thriller in years.

Boxoffice Magazine Richard Mowe

Whether audiences have the stomach for 150 minutes behind bars remains debatable, but there is no denying the persuasive power of a film that takes no prisoners and pulls no punches.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Some have compared this French crime drama to "The Godfather," and though that may be a common critical touchstone, writer-director Jacques Audiard manages to replicate its most elusive element, not the dark comedy or the operatic bloodletting but the incremental corruption of a decent man into a willful, coldhearted killer.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Rahim and Arestrup are both so outstanding that if this were an English-language film, they'd probably be nominated for Oscars, too.

Empire Andrew Male

A modern French crime epic where the smudges and crossings out do not diminish the passages of great dreamlike power.

The Hollywood Reporter Peter Brunette

What's most immediately remarkable about the film is the raw intensity of its hyper-realistic encounters, hugely enhanced by the superb acting of newcomer Rahim.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

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.

Village Voice Rob Nelson

Sold to the global arthouse market as the "French Scorsese," Audiard does know his genre. A Prophet, the director has said, is the "anti-Scarface."

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

Jacques Audiard’s film, which lasts two and a half hours, maintains an unflagging urgency, stalling only when the double-dealing grows too dense.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Rahim is an exciting, unpredictable presence, and Arestrup’s César has a stature that’s nearly Shakespearean.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A compelling piece of naturalistic filmmaking, claustrophobic and thought-provoking.