Deborah Ross

Shifting power

A Prophet<br /> 18, Nationwide

issue 23 January 2010

A Prophet
18, Nationwide

A Prophet is an astounding, wholly gripping French film which is both a prison drama and a gangster thriller, and my guess is that, when it comes to the best foreign film category at this year’s Oscars, it’ll be between this and Michael Haneke’s White Ribbon. Obviously, I cannot say which will win, just as I can’t yet say what I won’t be wearing to the Oscars. Every year, it’s the same: they don’t invite me and I then have to worry about what not to wear. Should I not wear the oyster-pink chiffon? And, if not, what shoes am I not going to put with it? I do wish they’d stop not inviting me. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.

Anyhow, A Prophet is directed by Jacques Audiard who also directed The Beat that my Heart Skipped (the one about the fella torn between a life of crime and being a concert pianist, as can happen) and Read my Lips (the one about the ex-con and the deaf lady) and is shaping up nicely as one of the most gifted and exceptional directors around.

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