Ryan Coogler on Un Prophéte
Ryan Coogler on Un Prophéte
When, why, and how Jacques Audiard's 2009 crime drama blew Ryan's mind.
At the end of a long, hard week Ryan Coogler came into our LA studio dog-tired, but as soon as we started talking about the film that blew his mind he was immediately reenergized. In “Ryan Coogler on Un Prophéte” we go on a journey of discovery - his and ours - as the man who blew the doors off the global box office with Black Panther lovingly dissects this French prison drama from 2009. Along the way we learn about his first trip out of the country, his first espresso, and a ton about filmmaking. He may also have the best story ever about the weirdest thing that happened to him in a cinema. - T.J.
The cinematic force that is Ryan Coogler brings us deep into Jacques Audiard’s masterful, layered Un Prophéte. When Malik, an Algerian man, arrives to serve his sentence in a French prison, he must rely upon his capacity for observation and learning to navigate the new environment defined by the complex dynamics of race, ethnicity, language, and power. With laser sharp insight, Ryan describes the finer points of the film’s craft, why it is often compared to The Godfather, and describes Malik, played by the fierce Tahar Rahmin as, “the greatest learner ever put to screen.”
We hear about Ryan’s formative years as a film student at U.S.C., his first visit to the Cannes Film Festival, and how Alejandro Iñárritu’s Amores Perros and Fernando Merielles and Katia Lund’s City of God also inspired him along the way.
About the Film
A young Algerian man is sent to a French prison in Jacques Audiard’s crime drama. The film won the Palme d’Or when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009.
Director: Jacques Audiard
Writers: Thomas Bidgain, Jacque Audiard, Abdel Raouf Dafri
Primary Cast:
Tahar Rahim (Malik El Djebena)
Niels Arestrup (César Luciani)
Adel Bencherif (Ryad)
Cinematography by Stéphane Fontaine
Music by Alexandre Desplat