Plot
Inspired by the classic book by Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet is an animated feature film, with "chapters" from animation directors from around the world.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 6.9/10 (518 voted)
Critic's Score: /100
Director: Roger Allers
Stars: Liam Neeson, John Krasinski, Salma Hayek
Storyline
Inspired by the classic book by Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet is an animated feature film, with "chapters" from animation directors from around the world.
Writers: Roger Allers, Kahlil Gibran
Cast: Liam Neeson -
Mustafa
(voice)
John Krasinski -
Halim
(voice)
Salma Hayek -
Kamila
(voice)
Quvenzhané Wallis -
Almitra
(voice)
Alfred Molina -
Sergeant
(voice)
Frank Langella -
Pasha
(voice)
Assaf Cohen -
Young Groom /
Date Seller
(voice)
Gunnar Sizemore -
Bully Brat
(voice)
Terri Douglas -
Village Woman
Leah Allers -
Woman With Shawl /
Young Bride
(voice)
Caden Armstrong -
Bully Girl
Trivia:
Salma Hayek promoted this film on her visit to Lebanon, the birth place of Gibran Kahlil Gibran. Hayek is also of lebanese descent. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 9/10
I've never written a review on IMDb, but saw this film's world premiere
at TIFF and have been annoyed that nobody else has written about it, so
I'm starting the conversation.
The two questions you need to ask yourself if you're wondering whether
you'll like Kahlil Gibran's the Prophet are: Have you enjoyed Disney
movies (traditionally animated, not the studio's modern Pixar-lite
offerings), and do you like Gibran's poetry?
(If the answer to one or both is yes and you actually have an
opportunity to see the Prophet, please stop reading and watch it so you
can add to the discussion.)
If even Beauty and the Beast, every segment in Fantasia and Fantasia
2000, or the Lion King (whose co-director Roger Allers wrote and
directed this) left you cold, the Prophet isn't likely to convert you.
None of the key staff except Allers, storyboard artist Will Finn and
segment directors Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi have connections to the Mouse
House, but the Prophet's main story looks and, for the most part, feels
like a Disney movie: a simple, effective parable about the power of
ideas focusing on a girl (Quvenzhané Wallis)'s relationship with a poet
(Liam Neeson) whose words nearly led to a Middle Eastern dictator
(Frank Langhella) being overthrown years before the movie starts. (The
setting resembles 1920s Algeria, but is wisely fictional, its name
drawn from Gibran's book.)
After an introduction that echoes Aladdin and a lecture from her mother
(producer Salma Hayek) that resembles every Disney film with a living
parent, Wallis's Almitra winds up at poet Mustafa's shack, where he's
been living under house arrest for seven years. But today the
dictator's sergeant (Alfred Molina) arrives to inform Mustafa he's free
to go - provided he leaves his adopted home forever and renounces those
dangerous words.
During the long trek from Mustafa's home at one end of the capital to
the dock where his ship awaits on the other, admiring townsfolk stop
and ask for his advice about a variety of subjects, which Mustafa
dispenses in the form of Gibran's words.
Which brings me to that second question. When Mustafa begins sharing
his wisdom by discussing freedom, Liam Neeson - as he will throughout
the movie - reads the original poem verbatim:
"At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate
yourself and worship your own freedom,/Even as slaves humble themselves
before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them./Ay, in the grove
of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest
among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff./And my heart
bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of
seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak
of freedom as a goal and a fulfilment."
(You can read the rest here: http://www.katsandogz.com/onfreedom.html)
For my money, if you want to illustrate the power of poetry you can't
do much better than Gibran, a Lebanese poet whose seminal work has
touched millions around the world (including me) with its articulate,
spiritual, multi-faith wisdom on 26 subjects ranging from freedom and
work to marriage and children (the poems for which are all included
here). I believe Gibran rivals Dr. Seuss and Shakespeare, but have also
read that he's less well-known in North America than elsewhere, and
that academics have a low opinion of his work. (Perhaps more
importantly, none of my friends seem to have heard of him.)
So if you find Gibran's thoughts trite, you might find the movie
off-putting as well.
That said, if you can approach it with an open mind anyway, you might
still be carried away by the film's most artistic flourish: each of the
eight poems used is illustrated by a segment designed and directed by a
different international animator, including Bill Plympton, Sita Sings
the Blues' Nina Paley, Secret of Kells director Tomm Moore, the
aforementioned Brizzi brothers (who were assistant directors on
Disney's the Hunchback of Notre Dame), and Mohammed Saeed Harib,
creator of a Middle Eastern TV series. Two are even set to music
composed by Damien Rice and Once's Glen Hansard.
Unfortunately, as of this writing the film lacks North American
distribution - which, I am equally sorry to say, isn't surprising
because it's a difficult sell. While the Prophet looks and - again, for
the most part - feels like a Disney movie, it differs in one key
respect: it knows that in real life you can't simply throw a dictator
off a building and suddenly bring peace to a country. Animation is
still synonymous with kid's entertainment in too many moviegoers'
minds, and while suitable for children, the Prophet isn't aimed at
them: little ones are advised to watch it with a parent who can answer
the questions they'll inevitably have once the end credits start
rolling.
The film isn't perfect - I personally didn't like the music used for
the "Children" poem (Paley's segment), and have read grumbling online
about Plympton's illustration of "Work" (which I thought was great).
Some of the main story's action is poorly timed, and its characters
aren't always as expressive as they could be (a consequence of the
cel-shaded 3D animation used to bring them to life). But the voice cast
(including John Krasinski as a friendly guard) is terrific - Neeson
especially is the perfect narrator - and if not everyone will love
every segment, each ones' artistry is undeniable. Besides, if you don't
like a given sequence, another comes along within a few minutes.
Bottom line: I'm thrilled this movie exists and amazed at what Hayek,
who spearheaded the project, was able to pull off with a $12- million
budget. It deserves a wider audience.
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