Last night we went to see A Prophet.  The kids are away for a week, skiing, so being able to decide at 5pm what we want to do in the evening, without having to book a babysitter is, as any parent knows, incredibly liberating.

A Prophet is really worth seeing. At times it feels like a brutal gangster film, but it’s also beautifully shot, not heavy-handed at all;  a sensitive portrayal of a man’s loss of innocence in order to survive, and of his journey towards a gradual affinity with his Arab roots, when before he belonged to no particular culture.

Fairly early on in the film, the hero Malik, (brilliantly played by French-Algerian Taha Rahim)  a slightly awkward, gentle character,   is asked to engage in a sex act with a fellow prisoner in return for some hash.  He refuses, but later is coerced into killing the man in return for protection from a rival gang, the leader of which has a disconcerting resemblance to Anthony Worrall Thompson.  Here’s a clip and an excellent review on the Guardian’s website.

On the way home in the car we were talking about the film.

“Do you think it’s really like that in prison?”  asked my husband.  ”I mean, if I went to prison, it would be terrible.  They’d all pick on me.”

“You mean, for sex?” I laughed.  ”Don’t be daft! You’re 47! Why would they pick on you when they can have some hot 22 year old?”

He was indignant.  ”But I’m still attractive!”

“Of course you are.. but given the choice..”

“So you’re saying, I’m not attractive enough to be buggered in prison…Well, that’s just great isn’t it.  I’m not even that attractive… I can’t believe you don’t think I’m that attractive.. Now that really takes the biscuit…”

I love it that we can always find something to argue about.