Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran

This is a reply to a couple of rather rash and inconsiderate comments above, done by people who apparently not only live in a world of hatred and mistrust but cannot even assess the obvious messages in an easy-going, unambiguous and outspoken story.

This movie has nothing to do with RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA! Mr Ibrahim does NOT at any point try to proselytize Moise. Moise does NOT change his name, does NOT change religion and does NOT deny his roots. He was adopted for personal, and not confessional reasons.

The author of the novel upon which the movie is based is a French Jew by the same name as the main character. This quite easily explains why the boy had to be Jewish and not, let's say, Christian, for that matter. To see propaganda here is a proof of bad taste.

Momo was poor and an obviously bad student - he had no bright future which to sacrifice, that is why he settled himself with the grocery store, not because he was proselytized to adopt Arab ways.

Mr Ibrahim made it quite clear that his wisdom does not come from the Koran, but from life, he was a half-literate man, he led a secluded life, he attended no prayers, he did not speak of the Prophet or whoever. He quoted the Koran only on matters of love because this is what interested him. What Mr Ibrahim knew "was in his Koran", which apparently escaped the attention of the paranoic Muslim-haters above, were the two flowers (hey, they are part of the title of the movie!), a remembrance of his long-dead wife and love of his life.

This was a movie about how religious messages may be perceived in a spirit of love and harmony with the world and not in terms of self-seclusion, mutual suspicion and hatred. Yes, the visits to the churches and mosques were a little too naively funny to be convincing, but the message was easy to grasp - there is A LEVEL OF PERSONAL RECEPTION of religious messages, the "inner religion" about which young Moise was wondering what it meant, which is equally easy to approach by all adepts to all confessions.

I actually did not like the movie that much - the plot was partly lame and too fairy-tale-like for such a "show-life-as-it-is" kind of movie. But I felt obliged to write this comment in order to defend it against undeserved xenophobic slanders.

Seldom do I buy the book because I saw the movie. I did this time around and the book is even better than the movie albeit a bit too short, although throughout the book, you will always see Omar Sharif as Ibrahim.

I went to see this without knowing too much about it and from the very beginning it succeeded in drawing me right into Rue Bleu, it was as if I could almost smell it, feel it, touch it. Why? Because we care for the characters, we feel with them, through them. Omar Sharif is just stellar as Monsieur Ibrahim and carries the story with such an ease that it is a delight to watch.

One of the most powerful scenes for me was when Ibrahim confronts Momo about the stealing. There are more but I do not want to spoil it for you. "Ibrahim" is an emotional journey that you have to be willing to make. If you do you will be well rewarded.

Highly recommendable. 9/10

This film is a wonderful example of how one can choose to be a victim or a hero in life! The abrupt start to the movie lets one see the boy's situation immediately. Using the grocery money given to him by his father, he goes searching for his first sexual experience among the prostitutes he observes from the window of his apartment. He is unsupervised, self-sufficient, curious and in desperate need of guidance. The shopkeeper who has been in this boy's life longer than the boy realizes, steps in to be the uplifting and guiding force for him. Initially, I felt a little troubled by the use of the two religions and putting one in a less-kind light. However, I realized that the viewpoint had nothing to do with the religion, rather with the person and how they chose to deal with their life. I will recommend this movie to many people!

Paris, France. Late 50's/early 60's. Momo is a teenager who lives alone with his father in some poor and decadent neighborhood, full of prostitutes and where people of any race and religion live together. He's a jew but he doesn't care that much about religion and what it means. In fact, he can only think about girls and sex; but he girls of his same age wouldn't have sex with him; so he hires a prostitute (and he gets keen of that -so much that he'll become close friends of some of the hookers of his street-). However, his life ain't easy at all: her mother went away years ago, his father doesn't love him ... and it's getting harder everyday; but he finds comfort and friendship in Ibrahim, a Turkish shopkeeper that will become the most relevant figure in Momo's life.

"Monsieur Ibrahim" is a movie about tolerance, about friendship, about real commitment. Every sentence that Ibrahim says to Momo is full of wisdom and simplicity; they're just like darts to be stick in the eye of every single fanatic, racist, and intolerant person in this world. It's a movie about kicking out prejudices. A Jew and a Muslim who love each other, who respect each other, who listen each other. Too wonderful to be true.

The story is constructed in two parts: the inner/initiative trip of Momo, his discovering of sex and love, his discovering of the huge wisdom that Ibrahim and wants to share with the young boy; and the car trip to Turkey together with Monsieur Ibrahim in which he'll learn about different cultures, and religions, and the different ways of life here and there, all along Europe till they get to Ibrahim's birthplace: some little village in the mountains of Turkey.

The film it's been filmed with the same simplicity that Ibrahim shows in his personal philosophy, with a sober and rather neo-realistic style. Young Pierre Boulanger (Momo) gives the perfect reply to Omar Sharif (Ibrahim), an outstanding actor in state of grace. It's a pity that Mr. Sharif had made too many bad films in the last 30 years. His talent has no limits, and this calm serene and tender Ibrahim proves it. I dare to say this is his best performance (and maybe his best film) since Doctor Zhivago.

My rate: 8/10

I went to see the movie after reading very good reviews during last Venice Film Festival. It was generally described as a fairytale about tolerance and friendship - ant that's what it is. A fairytale Paris quarter, with fairytale 'putaines', a wise middle aged shopkeeper, a smart teenager - everyday life goes on with a little happiness, a little tragedy, nice period music, simple happy philosophy. The second half of the movie goes on-the-road - in a fairytale Turkey, though definitely more realistic than Paris. Omar Sharif is good, and Pierre Boulanger is even better. This film is perfect to spend a cheerful evening and it is a little joyful lesson on religious tolerance and friendship.