Monsieur Ibrahim (2003)

In Paris, a Turkish shop owner befriends a Jewish boy in his mid-teens.

Director:

François Dupeyron

Writers:

François Dupeyron, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (novel)

Stars:

Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger, Gilbert Melki

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Omar Sharif	...	Monsieur Ibrahim Deneji
Pierre Boulanger	...	Moses 'Momo' Schmitt
Gilbert Melki	...	Le père de 'Momo'
Isabelle Renauld	...	La mère de 'Momo'
Lola Naymark	...	Myriam
Anne Suarez	...	Sylvie
Mata Gabin	...	Fatou
Céline Samie	...	Eva
Isabelle Adjani	...	La star
Guillaume Gallienne	...	Le vendeur voiture
Guillaume Rannou	...	Le realisateur
Manuel Le Lièvre	...	Le moniteur auto-école (as Manuel Lelièvre)
Daniel Znyk	...	Le gendarme
Françoise Armelle	...	La maitresse d'école
Sylvie Herbert	...	L'eximinateur

Storyline

In a street called Blue in a very poor neighborhood in Paris, Monsieur Ibrahim is an old Muslim Turkish owner of a small market. He becomes friend of the teenager Jewish Moises, tenderly nicknamed Momo, 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 Qur'an to the boy, receiving in return love and respect.

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Plot Keywords:

turkish | love | jewish | boy | friend | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Omar Sharif, who plays a turkish man, is not turkish in real life and couldn't speak turkish in the movie. Some of the words were made up and are not a part of the turkish language.

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Quotes

Momo: Do you think I'm good-looking?
Monsieur Ibrahim: [chuckles] You're very good-looking.
Momo: Will I be good-looking enough to attract girls without paying?
Monsieur Ibrahim: In a few years, they'll pay for you.
Momo: It's not great for now.
Monsieur Ibrahim: Of course not. See how you go about it? You stare as if to say, "See how good-looking I am." And so they just laugh. You have to look at them as if to say, "I've never seen such beauty before."

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Connections

References Contempt (1963)

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Soundtracks

Excuse-moi Partenaire
(Cuttin'In)
Written by Johnny 'Guitar' Watson
French lyrics by Ralph Bernet
Performed by Johnny Hallyday

User Reviews

A Wonderful and Sensitive Tale of Friendship

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")

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Italy]

Country:

France

Language:

French Turkish

Release Date:

9 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monsieur Ibrahim

Filming Locations:

Turkey

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,823,890

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,364,836

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARP Sélection, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1