Cannes 2009 Day 4: Audiard Gives Reason for a Need to Belong in ‘A Prophet’

The over two and a half hour prison drama demonstrates that there is a real war going on in on the inside which has a direct cause and effect on the outside world. The same theory can be switched around, as explored in Jacques Audiard‘s A Prophet, Cannes’ first official buzz title for the Palme d’or. Audiard goes with a complete unknown in Tahar Rahim for this fascinating character study, the film will make wavs international and the young actor can kiss obscurity good bye – so far, he along with Katie Davis from Fish Tank are the film festival’s acting revelations. Such as in Sur mes lèvres and The Beat That My Heart Skipped, the worlds that Audiard tends to are filled with: conflict, aggression and catch-22 situations. An engrossing drama from the get-go, this is just as much a film about the survival of the fittest as it is about the current climate of races relations and the thousands of years of suppression of the Europeans on their North African Muslim Arabic speaking neighbours to the south. Look for a Full review soon.