A Prayer Before DawnPosted by Sejersen Junker on April 27th, 2021 123 movie “Based on the incredible true story” reads the poster for the action drama “A Prayer Before Dawn”, which premiered out of competition in the 2017 Cannes Film Festival competition. And in this case the term “incredible” actually fits once, because what the Briton Billy Moore went through, who ended up in a Thai prison for drug possession and survived thanks to his boxing skills, is simply incredible. And the French director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire ("Johnny Mad Dog") transforms the breathtaking story into a ruthless cinema experience. Bangkok. Brit Billy Moore (Joe Cole) makes his living kickboxing and drug trafficking, two things that soon land him in the infamous Thai jail Klong Prem, nicknamed the "Bangkok Hilton". He shares a cramped and overcrowded dormitory with die-hard gangsters tattooed all over his body, brutal prison rituals and rape are the order of the day. Billy is still lucky and joins the penitentiary's boxing team. In the arena, he literally fights for his survival. A Prayer Before Dawn Trailer DF
From the very first moment in this British-French co-production, filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire leaves no doubt that in the next two hours he will go where it really hurts. Even in the first Thai boxing match, followed by numerous other fights of all kinds, the blood splatters. The fact that Billy is in the habit of smoking a dose of Ya Ba before his fights doesn't make things any better, because this mixture of metamphetamines and caffeine, which is popular in Thailand and appropriately called "Mad Dog", is a revolt and leaves the pain of even the most brutal kicks Forget about punches in the face and stomach. Billy is constantly electrified and turns into a raging beast at the slightest irritation. With the sheer strength of his fists he seems to want to defy the conditions of this hellish prison, which corresponds to the worst clichés about a jail in a country like Thailand: In tropical heat there is a merciless rule of thumb behind bars, the weak newcomers are "fresh meat" for theirs Tattoos such as long-term inmates wearing war paint and the guards are eagerly involved in their dirty machinations.
Such a parallel world has already been portrayed similarly in numerous prison films, but Sauvaire casts an often almost documentary look at it and ensures “A Prayer Before Dawn” an extra dose of detail and realism. When the camera pans almost voyeuristically over the prisoners' bodies, the downright pale Billy looks all the more like a stranger compared to the ink-strewn local inmates. This strangeness is further emphasized by the director's most original idea, because Sauvaire almost completely dispenses with subtitles. As little as most foreign viewers understand the Thai guards and inmates, so little does Billy know what exactly is being said around him. Only occasional bits of English or French provide rudimentary information, otherwise only the physical remains to express yourself, to defend yourself and to gain respect.
After being seen mainly in supporting roles in films such as “Green Room” or the series “Peaky Blinders”, the young Brit Joe Cole shows an astonishing screen presence as Billy in his first major leading role. Even more impressive, however, are some of the Thai supporting actors who, with the exception of the Vithaya Pansringarm known from "Only God Forgives", were recruited exclusively from ex-prisoners and boxers. So it's no wonder that “A Prayer Before Dawn” is authentic to a degree that is seldom seen in the prison drama genre.
Conclusion: The massive, brutal prison drama “A Prayer Before Dawn”, based on the factual report by former prisoner and boxer Billy Moore, is particularly convincing due to its realistic staging.
We saw “A Prayer Before Dawn” at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in 2017, where it will be shown out of competition as a Midnight Movie.
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