The R of the title stands for the young protagonist, Rune, fearlessly played by Pilou Asbæk. Imprisoned for violent assault, he's a cocky, good-looking young man placed in the hardcore ward, where his survival depends on quickly learning the prison's parallel world of rules, honor, and obligations. R also stands for Rachid, a young Muslim prisoner who becomes Rune's friend and accomplice, defying the rigid racial stratifications among the inmates.
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How sad is this?
A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
So, our main "protagonist" is thrown inside a prison nobody would ever want to visit.This review contains spoilers...!It doesn't take long before the tougher prisoners - 'Mureren' in particular - target him, put him in place, force him to jump through their hoops and accept whatever crap they throw his way... Rune being alone and having no chance to defend himself, doesn't have much choice.Following a failed drug-smuggling deal, Rune is screwed because he now owes money he can't cough up. 'Mureren' has it in for him - he did stab a friend of 'Mureren' on the outside... So it's time Rune is put out of his misery.Were we really supposed to care about this guy? I found no reason to root for Rune... He's hardly any better than them, just weaker. Sure, the guy who wastes him is a typical thug - a scumbag member of a gang of scumbags who all belong in there, so I'd give some credit to the actors portraying these low-lifes. Since the movie could be a somewhat realistic portrayal of life in places like this, props go where they are due.But it's just bleak. And like Rune - of little redeeming qualities.
I was astonished after the viewing of this authentic masterpiece. In the theatre, there were nearly only men. No gals. And you can guess why...No gals in this fierce movie, one of the best and most terrific of all times, concerning inmates, in the joint. The can. Oh, UN PROPHETE will remain a powerful film, I won't deny it, but this one is far more pessimistic, dark, bleak. THe scheme is almost the scheme, without the short lengths we could have in Jacques Audiard's feature. Everything here seems real, authentic, it doesn't seem that the characters are actors, but actual inmates and wardens. An absolute must see.
This film is compared to un prophete, i understand why, but is is right to do that. I saw both movies on the same day at the international film festival in Rotterdam and R Rocked me and the audience really out of our chair. In fact it was the first movie where during the Q and A with the director nobody left the space. The reason i don't want to compare both movies is also that because i saw them on the same day. After this stunning, violent roller-coaster watching the long une prophete is not easy and won't be honoust towards une prophete.. But nevertheless this film took me fully, with amateurs and old inmates in roles, it is breathtaking, raw, dark and intense. Nothing is too much, nothing is too long, nothing is to thin, its a fantastic movie who deserves a big audience. For those who are interested in the rates i gave to Une Prophete, it's an 8, but i still want to see both movies again, but not on the same day anymore. What a ride it was and thank you for producing this masterpiece, which is in my all time top 10 whatever other people think of it
aw this film at it's press screening this morning at Edinburgh International Film Festival. I'd heard it was meant to be the next 'Un Prophete'. Certainly if you haven't seen 'Un Prophete' you may well think this film is brilliant. Those that have seen 'Un Prophete' however may go away a little bit disappointed. There is just too much that is the same in both films. Both the films explore the tough inner workings of a prison from the point of view of a new comer. We are not told why this main character is in prison, only that he maybe stabbed somebody. He seems to be a good guy who is trapped working for a gang in prison. He's made to do tasks he doesn't want to do so he isn't treated like dirt, or killed. there is also another gang in the prison made up of Albanians etc etc .etc .It's the same old prison story that's getting told over and over. It is however a solid story so it's what they do with it that matters.They succeed in creating a likable main character that we sympathise with and support. They show how gritty and corrupt a Danish prison is. They do the whole thing with sexy camera angle's and expert editing.I was enjoying the movie, until I began to feel it wasn't going anywhere, then near the end we switch character perspective and follow a different character for the last fifteen minutes. For me, the story ends with our main character, I'm not interested in seeing his friend story for another 15minutes, that just didn't work for me. I saw others shifting uncomfortably in the audience as well. When the second end does come though it does hit with impact. I found myself wanting to look away as it was fairly intense.The film is on some levels very good, the soundtrack is perfect, well there's no songs just an intense score. The acting is amazing, the set is great, editing brilliant, script, pretty flawless. It's the story that just didn't grab me like it should've. There was nothing I hadn't seen before. It was a classic prison movie, done better than most, but not as good as 'Un Prophete' and 'Shawshank'. I was blown away by some shots in the film which were just incredible.'Un Prophete' for me is the best prison movie, it has everything, it is long, but justifiably. R is shorter at 90 minutes, but it was the end that spoiled it for me. If R had come out before 'Un Prophete' I'd probably like it better, but R doesn't explore much that 'Un Prophete' doesn't. I just wasn't interested in the last 15/20minutes. It's a shame, a lot of work has obviously gone into the film. It is still worth seeing. However I'd recommend most people just stick with 'Un Prophete'.www.duncansreviews.wordpress.com www.duncancowles.com