Saturday Night at Market Chess Cinemas

In light of the run-off in the French presidential election this weekend dominating the headlines, if you are looking to step back from the politics of the moment and watch a great film, this French-language production is exciting and gripping, but more importantly well done. 

A Prophet (2009), or “Un prophète” (original title), is a terrific thriller about a young Arab man sent to a Corsican (Corsica is a Mediterranean island which has Italian influence but has been part of France since 1768) prison, where he must deal with the ruling mafia.

Compared to the popcorn, campy thrillers largely released by Hollywood these days, this film is able to attain a certain depth to the characters and plot which makes it all the more gripping and entertaining.

It lost to The Secret in Their Eyes, the Argentine film for the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year award at the 2010 Oscars.

But I think that this is the best film of that year, including the American films.