The Prophet(full titleKahlil Gibran's The Prophet) is a 2014animatedanthologydrama filmadaptedfromKahlil Gibran's 1923 bookof the same name.Produced bySalma Hayek,who is also in the voice cast, the production consisted of different directors for each of the film's collective essays, withanimation directorRoger Allerssupervising and credited as screenwriter. Segment directors includePaul and Gaëtan Brizzi,Joan C. Gratz,Mohammed Saeed Harib,Tomm Moore,Nina Paley,Bill Plympton,Joann Sfarand Michal Socha.
| The Prophet | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roger Allers |
| Screenplay by | Roger Allers |
| Based on | The Prophet byKahlil Gibran |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million[2] |
| Box office | $725,489[3] |
The film had an in-progress preview at the2014 Cannes Film Festivaland its world premiere at the2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]It was released in the United States on 7 August 2015 byGKIDS,[5]and received generally positive reviews from critics. It was submitted to theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciencesto be considered for a nomination forBest Animated Feature,but was ultimately not nominated for the award.[6]
Plot
editSet inLebanonunder theOttoman Empire,Kamila, a widowed mother, works as the housekeeper for Mustafa, a foreign poet, painter and political activist being held underhouse arrest.Mustafa is guarded by the soldier Halim, who secretly pines for Kamila. Kamila's young daughter, Almitra, hasstopped talking due to her father's death,and has become a troublemaker who frequently steals from local merchants. Almitra has seagulls for her only friends; she even seems able to talk to them by making birdlike noises.
When Halim's pompous Sergeant arrives to tell Mustafa that he is now free, he must board a ship to his home country by day's end. The Sergeant escorts Mustafa to the ship, and Mustafa spends the time conversing with Kamila, Almitra and Halim, as well as with the townspeople, who regard him a hero. Mustafa's conversations, ranging in topics from freedom, parenthood and marriage, to working, eating, love, and good and evil are animated by the film's various directors in their own unique styles.
Once they reach the ship, the army imprisons Mustafa in a fortress instead of allowing him to board. The commanding officer labels Mustafa's writings asseditious,and demands that he retract his statements. Mustafa refuses, asserting that his writings are not seditious. Thus, the commanding officer sentences Mustafa to death by firing squad the next morning unless he disavows his writings. That evening, Kamila, Almitra and Halim try to help Mustafa escape.
Almitra sees Mustafa through his prison cell window, and talks for the first time since her father's death. Mustafa refuses to try to escape, giving his final animated poem, this time on death. His final wish is that his friends return to the house and rescue all his paintings and writings before the army can destroy them. The next day, Mustafa once again refuses to renounce his writings as he is being led to the firing squad in the fortress's open yard. A large flock of seagulls surround him as he is being placed in position.
Over at the house, Kamila and Almitra retrieve all of Mustafa's writings and drawings right before the army arrives, and they hide in the woods. Suddenly, they hear loud gunfire and see the flock of seagulls flee the fortress but Almitra insists that Mustafa is all right. As she sees the flock circle around the now departing ship, Almitra sees Mustafa's spirit aboard the homebound ship.
Voice cast
edit- Liam Neesonas Mustafa
- Salma Hayekas Kamila
- John Krasinskias Halim
- Frank Langellaas Pasha
- Alfred Molinaas Sergeant
- John Rhys-Daviesas Yousef
- Quvenzhané Wallisas Almitra
Additional voices byAssaf Cohen,John Kassir,Nick Jameson,Fred Tatasciore,Terri Douglas, Lynnanne Zager, Leah Allers, Caden Armstrong, Gunnar Sizemore,Mona Marshall,Rajia Baroudi andMichael Bell.
- French version
Release
editThe film was releasedon-demandon 19 January 2016, and onBlu-ray/DVD on 2 February 2016.[8]
Reception
editOn thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,the film holds an approval rating of 65% based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 6.60/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Kahlil Gibran's the Prophetis a thrillingly lovely adaptation of the classic text, albeit one that doesn't quite capture the magic of its source material. "[9]Metacriticgives the film aweighted averagescore of 61 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]
Peter Sobczynski ofRogerEbertgave it three and a half stars out of four and called it "a wildly ambitious and frequently fascinating film that moviegoers of all ages should find both entertaining and provocative in equal measure."[11]Peter Debruge ofVarietywrote, "As if it weren't special enough to hear Neeson recite Gibran's sentiments amidst such striking visuals, the addition of music further elevates verses that so many have already committed to memory and which a whole new audience can now discover for the first time."[1]Joe McGovern ofEntertainment Weeklygave the film a "B" grade, saying, "Each one [of the individual sequences] soars (especially clay painter Joan Gratz’s color-bursting snippet, “On Work” ), even if the plot holding them together is frustratingly Disneyish. "[12]Roger Moore of Movie Nation gave the film three stars out of four and described it in his review as "a lovely work, imbued with all the sweetness a Who’s Who of great animators can give it."[13]
Writing forTheWrap,James Rocchi called the film "well intentioned, but not especially well executed".[14]Matthew Kassel ofThe Observergave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "Often, Mustafa’s musings come unbeckoned—and mostly feel pedantic, like a kind of philosophicalmansplaining.You get the gist of what he’s saying, but at a certain point—near the third quarter of the film, I’d say—the prophet’s ambiguous words start to grate. "[15]In her review forThe New York Times,Jeannette Catsoulis described the film as a "collection of eight mini-sermons [that] falls flat."[16]
References
edit- ^abcdefDebruge, Peter (21 March 2015)."Film Review: 'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet'".Variety.Penske Business Media.Archivedfrom the original on 2 November 2017.Retrieved22 October2017.
- ^Giardina, Carolyn (27 November 2015)."Inside Salma Hayek's Four-Year Quest to Make 'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet'".The Hollywood Reporter.Prometheus Global Media.Archivedfrom the original on 27 June 2016.Retrieved30 April2017.
- ^"Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet".Box Office Mojo.IMDb.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2017.Retrieved7 July2017.
- ^Wolfe, Jennifer (23 May 2014)."GALLERY: Salma Hayek's 'The Prophet'".Animation World Network.Archivedfrom the original on 2 July 2014.Retrieved2 July2014.
- ^Patten, Dominic (5 February 2015)."GKIDS Acquires Salma Hayek-Produced 'The Prophet'".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Business Media.Archivedfrom the original on 6 February 2015.Retrieved5 February2015.
- ^"16 Animates Features Submitted For 2015 Oscar Race".Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.5 November 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 27 October 2019.Retrieved27 October2019.
- ^Guyard, Bertrand (6 October 2015)."Mika:" AvecLe Prophète,Salma Hayek a fait un film d'art "".Le Figaro(in French).
- ^""My words are my wings" #TheProphetMovie ".Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet.Facebook.23 December 2015.Retrieved22 October2017.
- ^"Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet (2015)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.Retrieved18 September2023.
- ^"Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet Reviews".Metacritic.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 4 May 2018.Retrieved13 July2018.
- ^"Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet movie review and film summary".RogerEbert.Archivedfrom the original on 19 November 2021.Retrieved19 November2021.
- ^"'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet': EW Review ".Entertainment Weekly.Retrieved21 November2021.
- ^"Movie Review:" Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet "".Movie Nation.3 August 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2021.Retrieved21 November2021.
- ^"'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet' Review: Liam Neeson and Salma Hayek Attempt to Put Poetry in Motion ".TheWrap.4 August 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2021.Retrieved21 November2021.
- ^"A Mickey Mouse of a Messiah: Kahlil Gibran's pedantic classic gets the cartoon treatment".The Observer.6 August 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2021.Retrieved21 November2021.
- ^Catsoulis, Jeannette (6 August 2015)."Review: 'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet' Turns Essays Into A Family Movie".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2021.Retrieved21 November2021.
External links
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