Cast: Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger, Gilbert Melik, Lola Naymark, Anne Suarez, Isabelle Renauld
Director: François Depeyron
Producers: Laurent Pétin, Michèle Pétin
Screenplay: François Depeyron, based on the novel Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Cinematography: Rémy Chevrin
U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
In French with subtitles
François Depeyron's Monsieur Ibrahim takes a familiar story, adds a few elements, and provides a final product that is somewhat pleasant, but by no means surprising or challenging. Considering how generic the script often seems, the film's limited success must be attributed largely to the acting prowess of the legendary Omar Sharif, who takes the title role, and fresh-faced Pierre Boulanger, who matches Sharif scene-for-scene.
The storyline will be recognizable to anyone who has seen more than a handful of films. A young boy befriends an older man, the two develop a deep bond, and mutual life-lessons are imparted. An apt comparison might be to Cinema Paradiso, although Monsieur Ibrahim lacks the scope and emotional impact of the landmark Italian film. In fact, a key weakness of Depeyron's movie is that we never feel a deep connection with either Ibrahim or his young companion, Momo (Boulanger). Seeing Monsieur Ibrahim is like watching someone else's memoirs rather than experiencing them almost as our own (the perspective shift that the best coming-of-age stories accomplish).
Momo comes into Ibrahim's sphere of influence because of his dysfunctional family situation. His mother (Isabelle Renauld) abandoned him as a child; his older brother, Paulie, whom he has never met, left home long ago; and his unloving father (Gilbert Melik), is emotionally unavailable and often not present physically. Momo has been saving up to purchase the services of a local prostitute, Sylvie (Anne Suarez), for his introduction into manhood. To do so, he has been stealing things from the store of the local shopkeeper, Ibrahim. The elderly man knows what's going on, but allows it to continue. Eventually, he confronts Momo, and the two end up concocting schemes by which Momo can embezzle money from his penny-pinching father. Predictably, Ibrahim and Momo develop a father/son relationship that fills voids in both their lives. Along the way, the older man, who turns out to be a font of wisdom, drops verbal pearls like "You have only one pair of feet - take care of them," "When you want to learn, you don't pick up a book, you talk to somebody," and "A man's heart is like a caged bird - when you dance, your heart sings."
The first two-thirds of the movie contain occasional small pleasures, including Momo's interaction with various prostitutes, the way he and Ibrahim play small tricks on his father, his infatuation with a local girl (Lola Naymark), and his trip with Ibrahim to buy a new car. Unfortunately, Monsieur Ibrahim loses its way during its final thirty minutes, as the two protagonists take to the road for a trip to Turkey. The ending is ambiguous in an unsatisfying way, and, although there is closure, we leave the film not seeming to care as much about the fates of the principles as we should.
One new element incorporated into this story is the theme of cross-cultural interaction and amity. Granted, this takes place in Paris during the '60s, not modern-day Jerusalem, but Depeyron shows that it's possible for a Jewish boy like Momo to have a close, caring relationship with a Muslim like Ibrahim. Unfortunately, the repeated use of Timmy Thomas's "Why Can't We Live Together" (with lyrics like "All we want is some peace in this world" and "No matter what color, you are still my brother") drives home this point of universal fraternity with less subtlety than one might wish.
I think I would have enjoyed Monsieur Ibrahim considerably more if it didn't seem so much like dozens of other films (many of them from France) about similar people in similar situations facing similar dilemmas. The character interaction is pleasant, but there's only so much Sharif and Boulanger can do with the underwritten screenplay (penned by Depeyron based on the play and novel by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt). For n agreeable enough motion picture, but not one that leaves any sort of lasting impression.
© 2004 James Berardinelli