Sharif still commands attention
Added 8/21/2009
Though one initially wonders why the old man is so interested in the boy, at the end it simply comes down to passing it on. Like a painting where the details carry a reward, this movie delivers a fine experience. Many of us have met people like Ibrahim and can identify with this film.
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Sufi Tale for our Times
Added 1/31/2009
Without a wince of self-pity, a 14yr-old boy, Moses, fronts the prospect of maturation with a depressed, single dad, launching himself among the attractive streetwalkers of 1960s, Blue Stret paris. He fancies a girl his own age, who lives in the flat below, but his affections are not met with the same level as his needs. Groping around for direction, he finds acceptance and guidance in the wisdom of the 'Turk' at the corner store where he has purchased and pilfered smallgoods to put meagre meals on the table for himself and his ungrateful dad. Gradually he comes to accept nd trust the wisdom of the old Turk. It's simple stuff, expansive and and accepting of the lad's situation. The old guy has a late-in-life rush of enthusiasm and rescues the boy, laying all his goods at Moses's, (now become Mohammed's) table.The Turk reveals a path that is free of dogma and emotional constraints; a sufi fable of sorts which expresses a wonderfully sympathetic performance from Sharif that will challenge if not eclipse his work as a 60s matinee idol. We do return to Goreme, Cappadocia, in central Turkey, for the Turk to allow Mohammed to witness Mevlana Semma(sacred dance). But first he has introduced him to the variants of western standard religious practices in Istanbul. A sweet, tolerant and hopeful message with potent relevance in our intolerant times.
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Sufism in Monsieur Ibrahim
Added 4/16/2008
This movie describes the Sufi master and disciple relationship convincingly and entertainingly. It reveals that labels have no meaning if one discovers the essence of things, which is one. The local Arab grocer (Omar Sharif as Ibrahim) is not really an Arab, just like Moses (portrayed by Pierre Boulanger), a Jew, when he assumes the local Arab grocer identity in the footsteps of his Sufi master/adopted father at the ending. In the trip to Turkey, the Orthodox Church, Christian Church and a mosque is differentiated only by the sense of smell. The prostitutes have a purer heart than the "innocent" girl that Moses falls in love with as she two-times him. Sufism is not bound by legal dogma but by the inner truth that transcends all labels, similar to other spiritual practices. It is not a sect of Islam but just a mystical branch of the religion.
One gets the first hint of Ibrahim's Sufi sheikh/spiritual master approach when he "reads" Moses's mind by telling him that he is not an Arab. This intuitive knowledge is depicted throughout the movie, where Ibrahim seems to dispense advice and guide Moses with just the right touch. The lights of their hearts communicated on an intuitive and spiritual plane, requiring few words but registering complete understanding. Wisdom from Ibrahim's heart shines upon the pure, receptive and sincere love Moses has for his adopted father to maintain the Sufi-like bond of mystical love. The sheikh leaves when the disciple is ready to grow on his own.
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Beautifully nuanced performances
Added 12/6/2007
What a gem. Sixteen-year-old boy Moise (known as Momo) lives in a working-class Jewish district of Paris in the 1960s. He looks after his selfish, depressive father, a man who is never satisfied by anything Momo is or does. Abandoned by his mother as a small child, Momo has never known parental love or kindness, so he seeks womanly tenderness from the prostitutes who work the streets of his neighborhood, and he filches money from his father so he can afford to buy some pleasure. He's sullen and quiet, with no real friends and no one to help him learn about life's possibilities and love's responsibilities.
Momo makes daily visits to the local grocery owned by Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Sharif), a Turkish Sufi who seems to know more about what is in Momo's heart than should be possible. The two strike up a friendship, and Monsieur Ibrahim teaches Momo about loving kindness, about how to make himself more appealing to others so he can get what he wants out of life, about enjoying the world and the people in it. It could have been a paint-by-numbers sort of coming-of-age story, but instead the interactions feel very real and subtle, and Sharif's performance is extraordinary. He brings a real joie de vivre to the role, but in a quiet, understated fashion. Monsieur Ibrahim is a nonjudgmental, spiritual man who finds beauty in his Koran and keeps that beauty in his heart at all times, and his connection with this drifting young Jewish man gives Momo's life meaning and roots while still broadening his horizons, both literally and figuratively.
The religions of the two characters impact the story very little. Momo and his father appear to be secular Jews, and Monsieur Ibrahim's Sufi Muslim beliefs are important to him but are flexible and nonjudgmental enough to allow him to show kindness and appreciation for prostitutes, as well as a desire and willingness to understand the beauty in other religions' houses of worship, to which he takes Momo on field trips.
Omar Sharif gives a performance of such subtlety and beauty here; he was perfectly cast in the role and he brought much of his own personal experience to it. I always think of Sharif in his blockbuster days, from "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago" and "Funny Girl," in which he gave fine and capable performances, but none of which allowed him moments of introspection. His international playboy persona made it hard for me to believe him capable of the sort of intimate gestures and nuanced emotions that flash across his face in this role. The DVD commentary by Sharif is thoughtful and articulate as well, and offers a whole new perspective on the man. This film was a very pleasing surprise.
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I definitely recommend it.
Added 6/10/2007
I've always had a bit of resistance to watching foreign films, but this one was so much fun it didn't matter it was in a different language. The opening scene starts with a 16 year old Parisian boy breaking his piggy bank to have his first experience with a prostitute... and it goes on from there. It ends up being a sweet film about an unusual friendship between the boy and the old man who owns the local grocery store. It's a very enjoyable film, with well executed cinematography. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a lively fun movie to watch.
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