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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Monsieur
Ibrahim
The controversy over Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ has been a boon for media outlets looking for something to fill the time and for talking heads looking to get on tv. And for the movie, too, of course. But if Jewish leaders want to get upset about a movie, they should watch Monsieur Ibrahim, starring Omar Sharif. This movie pits mystical Islam against legalistic Judaism and finds the latter distinctly lacking. Monsieur Ibrahim stars Pierre Boulanger as a fifteen-year-old Jewish boy named Moses, living in Paris in the early '60s. He's obsessed with rock 'n roll, getting laid, and irritating his father. His father is a single dad (the mom ran off a long time ago) who spends most of his time reading his collection of old books. This gives Momo (Moses's nickname) plenty of time to listen to his beloved transistor radio and flirt with the prostitutes who hang out on the corner. Omar Sharif is the title character, a shopkeeper who's always sitting on his stool at the front of the store. He's not too busy to notice Momo, though, and strikes up a friendship despite Momo's clumsy attempts at shoplifting. The relationship between Momo and Ibrahim is nicely handled. Their friendship grows as the shopkeeper shows himself more attuned to Momo's needs than Momo's own self-absorbed father. Of course, Momo doesn't mind that Ibrahim encourages him in his dalliances with local prostitutes and even teaches him how to steal from his father by substituting cat food for his father's pate. If you don't mind the movie's loose approach to morality (Momo's deflowering is treated like a great victory), there's much to enjoy here. Pierre Boulanger has that movie-star charm which makes it impossible to take your eyes off him, impossible that is until Sharif shows up. Now there's charisma. Their friendship feels authentic, as does Momo's burgeoning relationship with a local girl. And though I could've done without the constant references to '60s rock and roll (how many times do we need to hear Bill Haley and the Comets?), the '60s setting provides a nice hint of nostalgia. French film buffs will enjoy a particular reference to a red convertible. The movie breaks down, though, when Ibrahim and Momo head off to Ibrahim's homeland of Turkey. The film, which had been a model of intimacy with all the action taking place on one city block, suddenly becomes a travelogue. Sweeping vistas of Turkish countryside are intercut with vibrant scenes of city life. Ibrahim takes Momo on a tour of various houses of worship. First is the Orthodox church, then the Catholic church, then the local mosque, and then we witness Ibrahim's own faith, the Sufi branch of Islam, as Momo experiences the mystique of the whirling dervishes. Pointedly, there's no visit to a synagogue. Fans of middlebrow arthouse fare can probably guess what happens next, but I won't spoil the surprise. J. Robert Parks 2/29/2004
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