A Prophet (Un Prophete): Behind the Prison Walls

The hidden secrets of a prison are known only to the people within its four walls. While there are rumours of what happens within the confines of a prison, the truth is probably never what is revealed to the general audience. But French filmmaker Jacques Audiard attempted to display the dark secrets of prison life in his 2009 film A Prophet.

Malik is a young adult sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for his crimes. It is the first time he will ever step behind bars and is unsure what to expect during his time there but he is immediately introduced to a dramatic world of gang wars and mafias. At first he abstains from the hooliganism, however circumstances force him to work for the Corsican gang who loathe the other clan, the Muslims. In spite of being a Muslim, Malik is forced to commit crimes against his brothers in religion, for whom he feels no affinity. He begins to carve his own existence, with the help of friends, in and outside the prison. Slowly as his tenure comes to a close, Malik gains power, ultimately winning the favour of the Corsican boss, the Muslims, the prison guards and a few others outside the prison walls. With the end of his imprisonment, he manages to turn over a new leaf thanks to his notorious life in the prison.

A Prophet was released in the year 2009 and was directed by Jacques Audiard who also contributed to the writing of the screenplay. The language of the film is French. It is a French film with the locations for the shoot being in France mostly, the cast and crew being French and the premise of the story being a particularly French topic with the involvement of Arabs, Algeria and French mobsters. However, the film has an international appeal overall.

The film deals with harsh realities and shows them in a graphic light. One particular scene has the protagonist attempting to commit a murder using a blade clenched between his teeth. Failing at the first attempt, he grabs the blade in his fingers and wrestles the man onto a bed. He finally manages to slice a vein in the man’s neck and bleeds him to death. The protagonist then calmly washes away the blood from his clothes and leaves the crime scene as though nothing happened. The pace of the film is quick except for scenes involving conversation and when the storyline evolves radically. The colour palette has dark shades and has plenty of use of shadows which brings the feeling of captivity out on the screen.

The acting in the film is worthy of praise. A stunning performance from the lead actor successfully portrays the harsh reality in a prison. The brilliant light work, for the indoor cinematography, also aids the scenario of deep, dark crime within the prison setting. In spite of being primarily located in a prison, the film ventures outdoors to follow the exploits of the protagonist. Within the setting of the prison, the lighting, cinematography and blatant sound effects maintains the genre of thriller-horror-drama which ensues through most of the film. Even while deviating from the depths of the prison and venturing into the daylight, the genre is maintained as the protagonist is constantly reminded of restrictions on his freedom. The use of makeup and props is also commendable since it has been successful in adding to the quality of the film.

With various levels of excitement and scenes of meaningful importance, A Prophet manages to keep the viewer guessing what could be the next move. The character of the protagonist suits the tone of the film - both are mysterious and constantly evolving.

Mean Machine: A British comedy on prison football

When it comes to remakes, some are done splendidly well and outrank the original, some turn out to be quite poor as compared to the original and some are just plain average which no one tends to care about much. But sometimes a remake is twisted so differently from its original counterpart that it comes across as an entirely new project which has little to do with the initial film. Mean Machine is a 2001 remake of a 1974 film titled The Longest Yard which is similar to the original but has plenty of elements changed to seem as a completely different project altogether.

Danny Meehan is a former English football player who is hated by the entire nation for fixing a match between England and Germany, England’s biggest rivals in the world of football. After getting arrested for getting drunk and assaulting two police officers, Meehan is thrown into prison with a three year sentence. He is recruited by the warden to train the prison guard team, but not wanting to entice the anger of the inmates, he suggests organising a warm up game between the guard team and an inmate team which he will spearhead. In this endeavour, he is assisted by two fellow inmates, Massive and Doc. Meehan is left to convince the other inmates to join the team, train them and put up a decent side against the guards which he manages within the four walls of the prison.

The original film, The Longest Yard, was a Hollywood flick centred on the sport of American football. Mean Machine, on the other hand, is a British film which features around association football, the pulse of sports fanatics in Britain. This is one of the first and biggest standouts between the two films. Quite a bit of the script changes owing to the difference in the two sports which are featured in the films. Another difference is that Mean Machine is meant for British audiences; hence the language used employs a heavy amount of British slang; dialects which are native to the countries in Great Britain and references which will be more appealing to a British population have been employed in the film. Even the British humour which takes precedence in certain parts of the film is a stark difference from the original. One of the most hilarious scenes in the film occurs during the football match between the guards and the inmates when the commentators, who both share the name Bob comically, are conversing while providing updates for the prison inmates who are listening while locked away.

It is a decent film which is quite hilarious in parts but nothing exceptional. It is worth watching once and enjoying, at the very least.