"I completely agree with Conrad Black" is not a sentence I ever thought I'd say. But then, he became a huge critic of the prison system and it's hard to disagree when someone criticizes that institution as a failed piece of corrupt garbage that does nothing but perpetuate a harmful cycle.
Heaven knows the entertainment world is thick with stories exploring this subject, which brings us to this week's offering, the award-winning French drama, A Prophet.
A Prophet is a classic prison drama where a young kid makes a mistake and is sent to spend six years surrounded by bad influences, giving him no option but to follow the well-trod path to become a "real" criminal. Barely 19 and a Muslim, he gets in with a Corsican mob boss and climbs the crime ladder one scarring rung at a time. The film does a great job of portraying the challenges of daily prison life mixed with the drama of a young man finding his way in the world into which he was delivered.
Prison dramas can't escape the comparisons to HBO's Oz and while there are definitely shades of hyper-realistic prison life, it's equal parts prison drama, mafia movie and coming-of-age film wrapped into a 149-minute epic.
A Prophet is currently found online as well as this week's feature film at the Squamish Adventure Centre's licensed Friday movie night. (Yes, you read that right.) For more info, look up Beyoutofull theatre and as always Enjoy.
