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Monsieur Ibrahim (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 78
Fresh: 66
Rotten:12
Average Rating: 7/10
Consensus: With tender, assured performances, Sharif and Boulanger elevate what might have been a rote coming-of-age tale.
Theatrical Release:Feb 13, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $2,646,396
Synopsis: Vividly portraying a 1960s Paris neighborhood where lower-class status unites residents of varied religious and ethnic backgrounds, MONSIEUR IBRAHIM follows the universally appealing story of a... Vividly portraying a 1960s Paris neighborhood where lower-class status unites residents of varied religious and ethnic backgrounds, MONSIEUR IBRAHIM follows the universally appealing story of a young boy's coming of age. Moses (Pierre Boulanger), a Jewish teenager, lives in an apartment with his depressed father. His father's detachment leaves Moses with ample time for listening to rock music, pursuing alluring prostitutes, and making daily visits to the corner grocery where he befriends the owner, Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Sharif). Monsieur Ibrahim looks the other way when Moses steals food, teaches him the difference between being Arab and being Muslim, and dispenses advice on life, love, and happiness. When Moses' father eventually abandons him, Monsieur Ibrahim adopts him and cements the father-son bond that each of them desperately needs. Though never the focus of the film, the exploration of religion and ethnicity underscores French attitudes toward immigrants in that era, and establishes differences between the main characters. Moses' openness to learning about Monsieur Ibrahim's Sufi practices and studying the Koran reflects not only the blending of cultures in 20th-century France, but also the boy's yearning for parental direction, values, and affection. A brilliant cast--including a thoughtful performance by Sharif--and a period-perfect soundtrack of American and French rock music, enhance the already compelling story. In the tradition of other films that examine the importance of the father figure, like KOLYA and THE BICYCLE THIEF, MONSIEUR IBRAHIM provides a complex, touching, humorous study of this fundamental relationship. [More]
Starring: Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger, Gilbert Melki, Isabelle Renauld
Starring: Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger, Gilbert Melki, Isabelle Renauld, Lola Naynmark, Anne Suarez
Screenwriter: Francois Dupeyron
Producer: Laurent Petin, Michele Petin
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Monsieur Ibrahim
Unbearably life affirming and quasi-spiritual... [Sharif] dispenses bromides like a watery-eyed, Middle-Eastern Forrest Gump.
Director Francois Depeyron evokes the look and feel of nostalgia extremely well, recalling films like 'Cinema Paradiso' for their wistfulness and charm.
Even when the material is rather thin and obvious -- and it sometimes is -- Sharif and Boulanger's performances make Monsieir Ibrahim agreeable.
A slight-but-charming French heart-warmer that gives Omar Sharif his best role since... well, since Lawrence of Arabia.
Sharif still has that twinkle in his eye and a commanding screen presence.
[Pierre] Boulanger joins Keisha Castle-Hughes of Whale Rider as one of this year's strongest juvenile performers.
The [movie's] two halves are larded with European coming-of-age cliches... and never meld into a satisfying whole.
Thanks to Sharif's performance, this French-language import is made quite watchable.
Since there's no real-world grit to go with the grace, the story comes off as shallow and unaffecting.
Better when it's resisting the need to be about something, the movie starts strong.
That rare film about the sort of emotionally needy people who don't wear their neediness on their sleeves.
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