Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.
Acting
Tahar Rahim's silent face carries entire films within it.
Direction
Audiard turns fluorescent-lit corridors into visual poetry.
Writing
No exposition, just behavior — trust the audience completely.
Director
Jacques Audiard
Tahar Rahim
Malik El Djebena
Niels Arestrup
César Luciani
Adel Bencherif
Ryad
Hichem Yacoubi
Reyeb
Reda Kateb
Jordi
Jean-Philippe Ricci
Vettori
Gilles Cohen
Prof
Antoine Basler
Pilicci
Foued Nassah
Antaro
Jean-Emmanuel Pagni
Santi
Frédéric Graziani
Prison Warden
Leïla Bekhti
Djamila
Rabah Loucif
Malik's Lawyer
Slimane Dazi
Lattrache
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The deer scene was filmed with a real deer on its last day alive — the crew didn't know until after.
The Corsican-Arabic prison hierarchy mirrors France's colonial history in Algeria; Audiard called it 'a Western set in a French prison, but the Indians are running the fort.'
FR
