THE PROPHET (Theatrical Release USA 2014)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.4|5.0 Starsìììì

The Prophet—a nearly perfect animated film—fills itself with Kahlil Gibran’s prophetic parables. They are as miraculous and well-spoken as when first released; and are presented as a type of side-step to the story, not really related to the actual portrayal of story, but perfectly melding with the story in a most imaginative way. The film is worth several viewings. It uses the voice of Liam Neeson with excellence for the voice of Mustafa. This film starts Quvenzhané Wallis on her upswing after the Annie remake and reminds us of her excellence in Beast of the Southern Wild. Listen for the voices of Alfred Molina, Selma Hayek, John Krasinski (from The Office television series), and Frank Langella.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Mustafa (voice of Liam Neeson) is under house arrest with charges that his writings are seditious. When given release to return by ship to his home country, he is again arrested before the ship sails. He is imprisoned in a fortress with the demand that he retract his writings. He refuses to do so and is sentenced to a firing squad.

Additional Thanks

Thank You to Director Roger Allers for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Steve Hanson, Julia Lebedev, Leonid Lebedev, David Lipman, Haytham Nasr, Nael Nasr, and William Nix

for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Kamila (voice of Salma Hayek), Halim (voice of John Krasinski), Sergeant (voice of Alfred Molina), Pasha (voice of Frank Langella), Almitra (voice of Quvenzhané Wallis), Additional Voices (John Kassir), Alimitra (voice of Loreto Peralta), and Young Groom/Date Seller (Voice of Assaf Cohen).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. This animated cartoon is re-watchable due to the metaphors and various nuances that richly table the film.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers