Monsieur Ibrahim Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)February 19th, 2004
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM (MONSIEUR IBRAHIM ET LES FLEURS DU CORAN) is a sweet little coming-of-age story about Momo (Pierre Boulanger), a sixteen-year-old Jewish boy, and Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Sharif), an old Muslim shopkeeper who becomes Momo's surrogate father. Set in a working-class neighborhood of Paris in the early 1960s, the movie does a wonderfully evocative job of creating a strong sense of time and place. Set mainly in one small block with a narrow street, the movie makes you feel so at home in the setting that you'll feel liked you've just moved into a room in the small apartment where Momo and his sullen and depressed father (Gilbert Melki) live alone together. His mother and his older brother left his father years ago, and it's easy to understand why given the father's disengagement with the world.
Ibrahim, who is incorrectly known locally as an Arab, isn't one. He explains to Momo that he is from the Golden Triangle of the world, so he is a Muslim but not an Arab. Ibrahim believes in one of the liberal branches of his faith, and he does more reading of the Koran than worshiping. Their respective faiths -- Momo isn't a practicing Jew -- neither attract nor repel their friendship. They come together more as a matter of convenience since both are alone. Although Momo has a father, he is mentally AWOL, causing Momo to have to bake his own birthday cake, since his father doesn't even remember about the occasion. Ibrahim provides Momo with love, support and a rich array of advice on life from "No answer is an answer," to "Slowness is the key to happiness."
Although Momo initially dismisses smiles as something reserved for the rich, he quickly finds the ability to grin widely and often. Mostly this is because he gains confidence in himself through his relationship with Ibrahim, but his newfound sex life certainly helps a lot.
One of the few things that Momo's father ever gave him was a piggy bank of the style that has to be broken in order to retrieve the coins inside. Momo celebrates his birthday by using all of his accumulated savings to purchase the services of one of the many friendly prostitutes who work his street. He knows them as well as he knows his classmates at school. A cute and slightly plump streetwalker named Sylvie (Anne Suarez) helps him through his fast, first time. Momo discovers that what he'd really like is to have Myriam (Lola Naymark), the girl next door, be his girlfriend. In perhaps the high point of his young life, he shares a few kisses with her.
The story is slight but completely satisfactory save an only partially successful last act when Momo and Ibrahim go on a trip together. This touching film by French director François Dupeyron is a little gem that is certain to touch your heart.
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM runs 1:34. The film is in French with English subtitles. It is rated R for "some sexual content" and would be acceptable for kids around 12 and up. The sexual content is less than in most U.S. PG-13 comedies.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, March 5, 2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.
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