Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran

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!

In a street called Blue in a very poor neighborhood in Paris, Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Shariff) is an old Muslin Turkish owner of a small market. He becomes friend of the teenager Jewish Moises, tenderly nicknamed Momo (Pierre Boulanger), who lives with his father in a small apartment on the other side of the street. Monsieur Ibrahim gives paternal love and teaches the knowledge of the Koran to the boy, receiving in return love and respect.

"Monsieur Ibrahim et les Fleurs du Coran" is a wonderful and sensitive tale of friendship. Omar Shariff gives one of his best performances in the role of an experienced and very good man that follows the teaching of his sacred book as his principle of life. Pierre Boulanger has also a great acting in the role of a needy teenager that finds the father he has never had in Monsieur Ibrahim. This delicate and sweet movie deserves to be watched many times, especially in those days that the viewer is down and sorrow, to enlighten his or her life. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Amizade Sem Fronteiras" ("A Friendship Without Boundaries")

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that's so simple in nature, so kind in its intentions that it can't be American. One of those select movies is Monsieur Ibrahim, a simplistic, realistic story that takes place in a lower-income area in Paris, where prostitutes roam the street, the streets are overcrowded so much that it's quicker to walk than drive, and two unlikely people meet to form an unlikely but lasting friendship.

Moses (Pierre Boulanger) is a sixteen year old boy who uses the previously mentioned prostitutes often, as his father is too busy making ends meet to really have an impact in Moses's life. When he's caught shoplifting in Ibrahim's (Omar Sharif) store, they soon bond and become friends. Ibrahim teaches Moses many things about life, the universe, and everything. Soon, Moses is basically forced to flee from his home, so the two of them go off on a road trip.

The one thing that sold me about Monsieur Ibrahim was the genuine relationship that seemed to be shared between the two characters. It wasn't anything that seems to be prevalent in cinema now, such as pedophilia or loneliness or the young person teaching life lessons to the older person. It's just like the relationship that many people have with their friends. There were a few times where I felt that it was a little too close for comfort, but other than that, it's just a simple friendship, nothing more.

Ibrahim always had something to say about one thing or another. I especially agreed with his views on money, although some of the dance sequences (and his mediations on dance) seemed a little too heavy (and untrue) for a movie like this. A movie like this switches successfully between comedy and drama (I especially love the piggy-bank analogy), and works. At the end, though, it was predictable, but the final turn worked well. Overall, Monsieur Ibrahim works very well overall, and is one of the most surprising movies I've seen so far this year.

My rating: 8/10

Rated R for some sexual content.

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

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