Lexi Cinema London

Also showing Sun 7th October, 17:00 – on sale soon

“The Tree of Life meets Koyaanisquatsi in this dizzying ambitious adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s classic.” Variety

How do you film a book of mystical poetic prose;  a book which, which while not being religious is definitely spiritual.  Written by Lebanese poet/philosopher/artist Kahlil Gibran, it was first published in 1923.  It has been translated into over 50 languages and has never been out of print, making it, arguably, one of the best-selling books of all time.

Gary Tarn, the man behind the fascinating, award-winning Black Sun, is the film maker with the vision to do this inspirational book justice.  The Prophet provides simple answers to complex questions on subjects which we all grapple with:  love, crime, work, beauty and, ultimately, death.  In this visually striking film Tarn makes an ambitious attempt to interpret the words which are very familiar to so many people.  Tarn started with actress Thandie Newton’s reading of the text, and then travelled around the world with his 16mm and HD cameras and filmed people, situations and places that resonate with, rather than illustrate, the themes. The result is a luminous complement to the cherished prose, reminiscent of both Terence Malick’s ‘The Tree of Life’ and Godfrey Reggio’s ‘Koyaanisquatsi’.  Gary Tarn will join us afterwards to talk about his film making journey.

TIME OUT gave The Prophet 4*s, and here is what they had to say:

“With its mellifluous female voiceover and fascinating observational footage, Gary Tarn’s visualisation of ‘The Prophet’, the million-selling poem from 1923 by Kahlil Gibran, curiously echoes Chris Marker’s ‘Sans Soleil’. But Gibran’s mystical pronouncements differ wildly from the French filmmaker’s musings on fleeting moments. Beloved by generations of readers, scorned by the critics, Gibran’s spiritually portentous language is beautifully read by Thandie Newton while Tarn – assembling images from his travels – sometimes illustrates the prophet’s journey, sometimes finds a metaphorical representation of the text. Tarn demands a viewer alive to both words and pictures, but marrying Gibran’s inclusive, dogma-free vision to the affection with which the camera views everything from a London nude bicycling demo to Lebanese shoemakers at work, he delivers a heady rush of affirmation. Tarn’s expansive, intimate, lovely film lets us share the connectedness of humanity, as we see lovers, workers, families all over the world getting on with the business of being alive. “