“Un prophète” (預言者 / A Prophet), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 2012, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) O552

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 2012 for the first Japanese theatrical release of Un prophète (預言者 / A Prophet), Jacques Audiard’s acclaimed 2009 French prison‑gangster film starring Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup. The movie follows 19‑year‑old Malik El Djebena, an illiterate Arab‑French inmate who is coerced into working for a Corsican prison gang and slowly, methodically builds his own criminal power base from inside the system. 

Widely regarded as one of the greatest crime films of the 21st century, Un prophète won the Grand Prix at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, swept nine César Awards including Best Film and Best Director, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language. If you love La Haine, this is almost certainly on your personal “best of” list — an essential piece of modern French cinema.

In Japan the film opened in 2012 in a very limited run via specialty distributor Spring Has Come, playing mainly at boutique and arthouse cinemas rather than wide multiplex release. That makes surviving original Japanese posters like this one particularly hard to find. This example even retains its original circular “7/7 Roadshow – Cinémathèque Takasaki” date snipe on the upper right, a great piece of provenance that ties it directly to one of the independent theatres that championed the film.

Poster design

The Japanese B2 design is a striking, minimalist reworking of the international key art. A stark, high‑contrast profile of Malik’s face is rendered in rough white halftone against a deep black field, framed by a blood‑red border subtly patterned with prison watchtowers and barbed wire. Center‑right sits the Cannes laurel and GRAND PRIX logo, accompanied by Japanese text celebrating the film’s Cannes victory, its Academy Award nomination and London Film Festival win. At the bottom, the bold white kanji title 「預言者」 dominates, with the original French title Un prophète printed beneath in red, giving the piece a powerful graphic punch.

This poster is in excellent condition (please refer carefully to the imagery of the exact poster for sale, including the blank reverse). The date snipe is original to its cinema display and forms part of the poster’s history.

It is over 13 years old.

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.