A Prophet

Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) delivers his best film to date in this powerful, astonishingly detailed prison thriller that is already being described as an instant classic to rival the great crime films. Newcomer Tahar Rahim is a quiet revelation as Malik, a frightened new inmate who arrives in prison illiterate and alone, forced into a life of criminal servitude by the reigning Corsicans. Over six long years Malik begins an improbable education in prison society and the underworld, rising through the ranks to enter manhood and mobsterism while constructing an empire of his own. Tender, lyrical and angry in equal measure, this is a refined, complex story told with precision and confidence that is exhilarating entertainment.

Without a doubt the coolest movie to come out of Europe for many years. Guardian

Audiard reaches a new level with this impeccably modulated prison drama. This is exhilarating filmmaking, a movie which instantly takes its place alongside the greats of the crime movie genre. Times