Characters: Malik El Djabani (Tahar Rahim), Cesar (Niels Arestrup) In French with English subtitles
An illiterate young Arab named Malik El Djabani sentenced to serve a six year sentence in a French prison for assaulting a policeman becomes protected by an aging ruthless incarcerated gang leader, but there is a high price for this protection. Although Cesar (the gang leader) is never exactly friendly toward Djabani, he becomes Malik's mentor and introduction to the world of organized crime inside and outside the walls of the prison. Malik learns to read and write, but his true 'education' behind bars grooms him for power in the criminal underworld. Djabani even finds religion and friendship with a dying Moslem and several other fellow current and former convicts. Like a French version of "Goodfellas" with Moslem and "Corsican" prison gangs instead of Irish and Italian gangsters. This was an excellent movie in spite of nudity, sexuality, drugs, violence and other depravity. Unlike any other prison drama I have seen.
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