Comments on 'A Prophet'

This was a film that I enjoyed very much. I found it interesting how the development of Marik is presented throughout his time in prison. He entered as a mindless, police-beating violent man, but he learns a lot of discipline during his sentence, taking literature and science classes, which help him to slow down and take more consideration for his surroundings. He takes these classes as he states that he cannot read - perhaps this tells us something about his background and up-bringing - was he uneducated? could his family not finance his education?

Prison is presented as a dangerous place and Cesar, the leading mobster, is aware of how frightening it can be for newbies such as Marik. He offers him protecting, but this come at a price - Marik must kill Reyab, an Arabic prisoner, or be killed by Cesar's cronies. Straight away Marik is stuck between a rock and and hard place - he can save himself, but it comes as a very ugly compromise. In terms of conflict, a divide is clearly created in the prison - Arabics are refereed to as 'dirt Arabs' and the Muslims talk to no one but themselves. Racial trust is also an issue - when Marik is running an errand, he knock on a house, and the people inside argue about weather they should let him enter, stating 'He's an Arab - do we let him in?'.

Cesar, who takes Marik under his wing, is desperate to maintain his power over the people in the prison. He changes from being the man who Marik feared and worked for, possibly just to stay alive, to the man hating the fact that he has nothing.