UK Trailer: A Prophet (Un Prophete)
By Craig Kennedy - December 9th, 2009; 12:33 pm
This UK Trailer for France’s official Best Foreign Language Oscar submission is the first one that makes me believe it might be worth of the hype it’s been getting since Cannes. There may have been a foreign language trailer floating around somewhere that I missed, but the only one I’ve seen was back in May.
A crime thriller from Jacques Audiard (Read My Lips, The Beat That My Heart Skipped), A Prophet tells the story of a young Arab immigrant who climbs the ladder of crime while serving time in prison. It opens in New York and Los Angeles on February 26, 2010.
Filed under: Trailers
Tags: A Prophet, Jacques Audiard, Un Prophete
There certainly is no upcoming film that is as vital to see as this Audiard work, which (in view of his prior stuff) is seemingly a can’t miss. While Sight & Sound had laid out the red carpet treatment by annointing this as the film of the year, no less an authority than that fecund gentleman from Down Under with the existential name, has sung it’s praises at this film mecca.
Apart from that though, I thought the director’s first film, A SELF-MADE HERO was a flat out masterpiece , while the more well-known films you mention here are excellent. That late February release date though, will prevent ‘list purists’ from including it for 2009, should it pan out to be as great as expected.
I’ll probably revisit it before its release, but it really didn’t light my fire the way all the effusive praise seems to indicate. It’s a good film, but for my money THE WHITE RIBBON is the one that deserves the attention.
“It’s a good film, but for my money THE WHITE RIBBON is the one that deserves the attention.”
Well Matthew, that’s another big ‘yes’ for a film I hope to see over the next few days as the French DVD should be here any day now. For months this film was at the top of the must-see list.
THE WHITE RIBBON will almost certainly be on my top ten list this year. A PROPHET will not. Although I’m not sure whether to classify it as 2009 or 2010. I haven’t heard if they’re going to do an Academy run or not. I assume they are, but you never know with these things.
I thought Un Prophete was France’s official entry this year for foreign-language Oscar.
It is, but that doesn’t make it eligible in other categories. It must play here for a week in order to be eligible for other categories. That’s why so many films get caught up in a strange limbo – submitted one year, open theatrically the next year, but are never eligible for nomination in any category other than Best Foreign Language Film.
Now I get it, Matthew.
Either way, this is my most anticipated film — now that I’ve seen The Blind Side.
Just kidding!
I can definitely seeing winning the Oscar this year. THE WHITE RIBBON will be a tough sit for the blue hairs – too bleak, too ambiguous. But there’s another film I’m rooting for too, Denmark’s TERRIBLY HAPPY is absolutely fantastic. It won’t open Stateside until around March next year, but if it were an 09 film it would make my top ten without question.
“It is, but that doesn’t make it eligible in other categories. It must play here for a week in order to be eligible for other categories. ”
That is indeed precisely the point. UN PROPHET will have to be considered a 2010 film. Not having seen THE WHITE RIBBON yet, I would have to go with Denis’s 35 SHOTS OF RUM as 2009’s best foreign-language film, and one of the best films of the year, period.
Deja vu commentary. I’m looking forward to A Prophet because I’ve enjoyed the director’s previous work and I’m hoping The White Ribbon can live up to all this hype.
White Ribbon is Haneke’s most approachable and least annoying film, though I have to admit I haven’t seen every one of his works.
It might even have a warm beating heart at its center…or it might not…..I’d like to see it again before I pass final judgement on it.
A note on the trailer – the upbeat music and editing sequence in the middle section completely misrepresents the film. The more austere and somber opening and closing moments in the trailer come closer to the film’s tone. Like The Beat My Heart Skipped the main character’s interior life is often expressed through how the camera explores his world. It was for me a very successful combination of gritty realism and cinematic expressionism with some stunning moments of magic realism thrown in. The last were very lyrical and surprisingly affecting.
Here is a link to a fine interview with the director. There are no spoilers in it, a very general outline of the story is given which reveals nothing critical.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/dec/06/jacques-audiard-interview-a-prophet
I sorta skimmed the trailer just to see what I was getting so I could form an opinion, but I didn’t let it sink in. It’s already forgotten. You know how I feel about trailers anyway.
I’ll finally be seeing this next week. I’ve had a DVD lying around for a couple of months that a kind pirate soul sent me, but I really wanted to wait and see it on a big screen.
I’ve not seen it on the big screen. I imagine it delivers even more of a punch at times on a bigger canvas.