This was like a how-to for taking over a prison underworld. Not that any of you fine, upstanding people would ever need to know how to do that, but just in case.Young Malik (Tahar Rahim) is sent to prison in France for six years. He falls in with the Corsican mob, run by Luciani (Niels Arestrup), after they need him to do a favor for them and murder a witness (Hichem Yacoubi). As an Arab, Malik is treated like shit by the Corsicans and ostracized by the other Arabs for associating with them. But, when the majority of the Corsicans are transferred for political reasons, Luciani comes to rely more and more on his little helper. Malik is a fast learner and soon sets up his own drug-running operation with his friend, Jordi (Reda Kateb). He figures out very quickly that the only side you should take in prison is your own.
This was way more engrossing than I thought it was going to be. One of my favorite things about foreign cinema is the random surrealist touches. Here, the man Malik kills haunts him when he is alone, bearing the scars of his death and sometimes partially on fire. No explanation is given for this whatsoever. The title refers to prescient dreams Malik has a couple of times. Again, that's just the way things are.
I'd have to think about buying this one, even though it's not really my style of movie. If somebody gave it to me, I'd keep it but I don't think I'd rush out and buy it tomorrow. It's good, but it's not the kind of movie you can watch repeatedly. It was nominated for Best Foreign Film but lost to The Secret in Their Eyes, which is the only one I have left to see in this category.
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