DVD: A Prophet

Jacques Audiard’s epic prison thriller could easily have been called “An Education”. It begins with a young, ignorant French Arab (Tahar Rahim) being jailed for a minor, unspecified offence, only to be forced to murder a fellow inmate, and learning from then on how to be a successful gangster.

There’s a level of realism and political engagement that’s rarely found in American prison films, as well as an excitement that’s rarely found in British ones.