Out now on dvd/blu-ray
The People's Reviews
Rating:
3 ratings and 3 reviews
The Slow Unpeeling of a Fragrant Dangerous Onion
It doesn't move quickly this film, but it moves with a deliberate, measured, artful pace. Shot naturalistically, with moments of surrealisim, this is a movie for lovers of performance, structure, and tone. It took me about an hour to really warm to it, and then I was there, fully in the pocket with the lead. Three central performances anchor the film: the lead, his "mentor", and the lead's friend on the outside. All are excellent. With the mentor the most fascinating to watch. Also fascinating is the intimate, truthful world that the director has constructed. This film is essentially an art-house prison flick. It has an interesting, active lead. And an appalling, fear-inducing antagonist for him to rail against. It also has a strong soundtrack, and a sense of the epic - of a giant tale well told. Inevitably, in NZ right now, this film will be compared to ANIMAL KINGDOM as they are both playing. Kingdom has more tension and is more relateable because of it's Australian setting. It is also more deliberately, self-consciously "cinematic". The Prophet, however, is the more complete film. Regardless, these two films are a rare duo - crime-dramas that actually matter...
Pretty good
Really enjoyed it. A bit long but really enjoyed it. The storyline kind of gets you and you evolve with it and end up thinking how the main characters got to where they did. I'm not an arty movie person but there are some good subtitled stuff coming out and this is one of them.
Utterly believable
fantastic film. Enough said.
-
comment / reply