This movie was a rather fascinating present I received last year from my brother. Since today was a particularly droll day, we decided to watch The Prophet at his request. What followed was a very stereotypically fraternal dual reaction to it. But that isn't important, so let's get on to the good items. The story is, of course, adapted from Khalil Gibran's identically named fable compilation, though since it focuses more on specific Prophet fables than others, it is rather disadvantaged and disappointing as a movie plot. If the movie was in production longer, then surely it could have been possible to work in other chapters, as with only some of the 26, it doesn't have full potential. The characters are better than the story, as they translate better into a 1:24 movie better than each fable (or reference to) does. Of course, they did take much- needed time to introduce characters not from the source, but given how Almustafa was really the sole important shared character in the collection, it really was a great idea. Not to mention, I am actually somewhat jealous of Almitra's ability to parkour, which proves important in many scenes. As a downside, though, most of the other characters are forgettable, and in some cases not when they are meant to be. However, potentially the biggest saving grace in all of animation comes in this film's... well, animation. I was dazzled, concerned, scared, mystified, and hypnotized due to the animation, which undergoes several different styles. All of them, however, can be summed up as graceful and absolutely successful in depicting everything else. To sum up, expect from this movie a bit like what you'd expect from The Red Turtle: fantastic animation but not a lot of other notable substance. By all means, do check it out if you cannot deny curiosity.
Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet
(2014)
Borderline unrivaled animation to hide nothing really special
5 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers