Magic Malik

WARNING: SPOILERS

Most of the reviews I’ve read of A Prophet gloss over, or dismiss as silly/ entertaining flight of fancy Malik’s prophetic visions/premonitions, particularly that of the deer. This seems to me a way to minimise something problematic – ie the possibility that there is a literally magical or supernatural element to the film. But the film is called ‘A Prophet’, so Audiard is hardly playing down Malik’s prophetic nature! It might be interesting if, from a socio-political angle, anyone had a decent take on what the title means. Philip French says that Audiard sees him as a 'man of the future'. I can see what he means - someone who can move between different cultures, play all the sides - but he also avoids mentioning the visions. And I don’t think the reading of the title should be tied to Christianity or Islam – Malik (whose past, and reason for being in prison, remain a virtual mystery) certainly doesn’t align himself with any religious, ethnic etc group except for expediency’s sake. I prefer to take ‘Prophet’ in the sense of ‘seer’

If nothing else, the fact that Audiard (and possibly co-writer Thomas Bidegain) leave the question of Malik’s clairvoyance (we could call it that – ‘clear seeing’) open has the effect of elevating the film beyond the straight, socio-realist mode I feared. The idea of successful criminals (or successful detectives for that matter) having a ‘sixth sense’ that allows them to stay ahead of the competition isn’t new. A fairly recent example, Tony Soprano, is told by Artie in (I think) series four of the Sopranos, that he always sees five moves ahead (or something like that – can’t find the exact quote). Of course, this is just criminal as an intuitive master strategist/chess player, and Malik clearly demonstrates this quality many times throughout ‘A Prophet’ (sending money to the Imam, setting up the Corsicans to tear each other apart). But both also have ‘dreams’ or ‘visions’ which, of course, can be treated as metaphors – the ghosts of the people they have killed as manifestations of their guilt, for example. Except Malik doesn’t seem to experience guilt as such, his relationship with the 'ghost' of Reyes (his first victim) is more complex – Reyes isn’t a frightening presence, at times continuing in the mentoring role that he appeared to assume before his bloody demise, and also apparently able to show Malik the future. Is Malik's ‘intuition’ powerful enough to be indistinguishable from clairvoyance? Or even more than that – can he bend reality to his will?

Wikipedia:
sorcery was taken in ca. 1300 from Old French sorcerie, which is from vulgar latin *sortiarius, from sors "fate", apparently meaning "one who influences fate.".

It’s not just the ‘deer’ vision; when Malik is executing the Corsicans in their car, he lies down on the floor for a while, smiling while time slows down and the Mafiosi dumbly empty their guns into the body of the bodyguard he’s shielded himself with. There’s no trace of remorse, or fear, it’s more as though he’s attained a state of grace, an elevated physical and mental level. He’s magical – it’s a quality that the others recognise in him, and by the end of the film, he has a motorcade of followers/protectors waiting to follow him as he leaves prison (and a ready-made family to boot).

When Malik spends his “40 days and 40 nights” in the ‘hole’ in prison, he calls (we think to Reyes) “Are you here?” Has Reyes disappeared because he’s no longer required? Or has Malik integrated the seer/guide completely?

David