This week the Lincoln is excited to screen the best reviewed film of the year: A Prophet.
Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read or write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader's confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans.
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten:
"A Prophet is the kind of film that makes you remember why going to the movies can be a thrilling experience."
Written by: Thomas Bidegain and Jacques Audiard
Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb, Jean-Philippe Ricci, Gilles Cohen, and Antoine Basler
Language(s): French | Arabic | Corsican with English subtitles
Universal Aclaim for A Prophet:
Time Out New York Joshua Rothkopf:
"Why do we care? Because never before have the steps to thugdom, as depressing as that destination may be, been so rigorously detailed, neither romanticized nor negated. Don’t miss."
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum:
"There's also no romanticizing on the part of the director, who proceeds with calm, unshowy attentiveness (even in the midst of scenes of violence), creating a stunning portrait of an innately smart survivor for whom prison turns out to be a twisted opportunity for self-definition."
Wall Street Journal John Anderson:
"Uncompromising in its style, story and characterizations."
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan:
"To borrow a marketing phrase from another, very different film, A Prophet really is the movie that reminds you why you love the movies. Especially movies like this one."
The New York Times Manohla Dargis:
"One of those rare films in which the moral stakes are as insistent and thought through as the aesthetic choices."
Rolling Stone Peter Travers:
"A new crime classic."
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir:
"It's a highly original film made in a familiar context, and an exciting moviegoing experience you shouldn't miss."
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert:
"The best performance in the film is by Arestrup as Cesar. You may remember him from Audiard's "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (2005), where he played a seedy but confident father who psychically overshadows his son."
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea:
If Malik doesn't remind you of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone on his journey from innocence to corruption in "The Godfather" saga, well . . . he should. A Prophet is similarly, startlingly momentous."
Admission Prices:
General: $9.00
Seniors, Students and Active Military: $8.00
Members: $7.00
Children 12 and under: $5.00
Bargain Prices (all shows before 6:00pm)
General: $7.00
Members: $5:00
Children 12 and under: $4.00
Your membership with the Lincoln Theatre saves you $2.00 per film ticket