"When Shirley MacLaine made this same movie, more or less, as "Madame Sousatzka," there was a whole lot of acting going on. Sharif brings us to Ibrahim with a modesty that oddly reminds you of why the actor is a legend." Ty Burr BOSTON GLOBE "A gracefully subtle, sweet-spirited French parable of the brotherhood of man." William Arnold, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER "Sharif still has that twinkle in his eye and a commanding screen presence." Jeffrey Bruner, DES MOINES REGISTER "A spiritual adventure story about a Sufi grocer who passes on the wisdom of this path of wonder, love and beauty to a lonely adolescent boy who yearns for something more." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH "A beautiful little gem of a movie." Glenn Whipp LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

"This cinematic plea for tolerance makes for more than tolerable viewing, thanks to Omar Sharif's title turn as the shop owner with a yen for aphorisms." Peter Howell TORONTO STAR "A delightful coming-of-age story which helps prove that lonely teens can indeed be reached by the right adults." Harvey S Karten COMPUSERVE "Coming-of-age movies are usually pretty dismal, so it's refreshing to discover Monsieur Ibrahim, one that's worth recommending." VA Musetto NEW YORK POST "Contrary to expectation, it's neither a movie about religion nor the coming together of enemies. What it is, at heart, is a movie about love." Michael O'Sullivan WASHINGTON POST "The pleasure of watching the movie is derived from the nuanced performances of both Sharif and newcomer Boulanger." Jane Stevenson JAM! MOVIES

At A Glance

"Omar Sharif gives one of his very best performances in this touching adaptation of playwright Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's autobiographical novel, Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran." Ken Fox TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE

I am sure that there will be many a viewer who comes away from "Monsieur Ibrahim" feeling totally satisfied that they've received good value for their cinema dollars. And why not? This a cast of charmers with most of them totally unknown to Australian cinemagoers. Some may be left pondering where they've seen these cast members before. Like actresses Isabelle Adjani and Céline Samie. For those who are wondering, Adjani appeared on screen in the film "Bon voyage" [which has just completed an Australian season] while Samie appeared in that smashing film by Jacques Audiard "Read My Lips". Of course there is one actor we are all familiar with, although most will not have seen him onscreen since he appeared with Antonio Banderas in "The Thirteenth Warrior". That actor is Omar Sharif whose career started in 1954 with the films Struggle in the Valley [Siraa Fil-Wadi] and "Devil of the Sahara" [Shaytan al-Sahra] and who then shot to fame with such big boxoffice hits as "Lawrence of Arabia" [1962], "Doctor Zhivago" [1965], "Funny Girl" [1968], "Che!" [1969] and "Juggernaut" [1974]. It's fair to say the legendary Omar Sharif's career took a turn after he appeared in the 1979 film "Ashanti" until, in 1999, after appearing as Melchisidek in "The Thirteenth Warrior" Omar Sharif gave film away. Why? "After my small role in the "The Thirteenth Warrior" with Antonio Banderas, I said to myself, Let us stop this nonsense, these meal-tickets that we do because it pays well. Unless I find a stupendous film that I love, and that makes me want to leave home to do, I will stop." But wasn't there was more to it than that? "Bad pictures are very humiliating, I was really sick. It is terrifying to have to do the dialogue from bad scripts," he said, "to face a director who does not know what he is doing, in a film so bad that it is not even worth exploring." I'm sure there are plenty of readers who would agree with that statement after all, how many times have I posed the question, "Why the hell do they do it. Is it just for the money?" So what was it about "Monsieur Ibrahim" that brought the veteran actor back to the big screen? I mean, he had expressed doubts about ever finding another script that would fit him. "I didn't expect to find any picture or role that could make me want to start working again. It is not easy to find something that you want to play when you are old, with an indefinable accent and a rather oriental appearance. I was moved, touched and carried away by this script. I was on vacation in Cairo, I had taken the "Monsieur Ibrahim" script with me, and I had a chance to read it. I loved the theme, it interests me at this point in history. I wanted to get involved in this." Some viewers may find "Monsieur Ibrahim" a little political, perhaps even patronising for our times, with it's constant reference to the Koran. Did that worry Sharif? "I am not at all politically active. My son married a Jew, then a Catholic, and then a Muslim. That should tell you that I am open to all religions. But I have to say that for me this film is not religiously or even politically engaged. What I liked is that it was a love story, a film about humans, about exchanges. To me the fact that one of them is Jewish and the other Muslim is incidental, the relationship would be the same." And the shopkeeper you play is a worldly wise philosopher of sorts, isn't he? "This greengrocer that philosophizes without realizing it, is a man full of common sense, a kind of sage," he notes. "The boy, Momo, to whom nobody has ever spoken, who never communicates with anyone, finds in Ibrahim a guy whose sayings make no sense to him in the beginning, but when he thinks about them, he realizes that he is not idiotic at all. He finds Ibrahim's deeds beautiful, so he concludes that what he says is also beautiful. He learns to trust him." So how did you go about tackling the role of this wonderful, enriched old man running a grocery store in a film set in the early sixties? "I had to find the way to say meaningful things without sounding pretentious," he says. To find a lightness and to that end I tried to make Ibrahim seem eccentric. He he has nothing in his life. He spends his time in his grocery and does not talk to anyone." And he seems so detached from the shop almost as if it is secondary to something else? "He is not really engaged in his business; sitting on his stool he sells things, that is his routine. He does not have a business sense. His work keeps him busy and lets him watch the passersby." But then the young boy Momo comes to his attention? "Momo provides him with a reason to live, a new taste of life." And I hear you took an interest in Pierre Boulanger and went to the French Open with him? In the end though, did you teach him too much? "Before and after our work, we sat together watching the French Open at Roland Garros. He is a quick learner, and gained aplomb in no time. After two days of filming he was almost telling me what I should be doing! He really is a great boy. I have a lot of affection for him." And when it comes to your character, is there any of Ibrahim in you? "I share his philosophy," he says, "absolutely, but with a great difference. I have a clear preference for luxury. What ever I make I immediately spend. I am incapable of saving anything. But I spend by sharing; I give, I take people to meals. I need to exchange ideas, feelings." Why is that? "I am not interested in ownership, and I own nothing. I am interested in people. When I arrive in a foreign country, I want to sit down and talk." You say this is because of your upbringing, don't you? Is that true? "This is also because of my mother. She was a spendthrift, whereas my father was very frugal. She used to say when she was sending me off to play poker: "Go gamble and lose. I want everybody to say that this boy is truly like his mother, and has nothing of his father!" Finally, what was the hardest task you had to perform for the film? "Turkey was technically the most complicated part of the filming. You are really driving that car, the production team is really riding on your back. It is windy and it's really difficult to concentrate on speaking your lines into microphones. With a winding mountain road, the lights in my eyes, it was a miracle that I didn't wreck the car," he said. "Especially since I rarely drive." Let's hope "Monsieur Ibrahim" is not a rarity and that there will be more roles for Sharif to delight us with. Crew Bytes "Monsieur Ibrahim" was .......
directed by François Dupeyron ["La Dragonne", "A Beating Heart", "What's Life?" and "Officer's Ward"]; screenplay by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt ["Heavy Weather" and "Libertin"]; production design by Katia Wyszkop ["The School of Flesh", "My Wife Is an Actress", "My Wife Maurice" and "Part-Time Cops"]; edited by Dominique Faysse ["Every Other Saturday", "Le Convoi", "Don't Make Trouble!" and "Officer's Ward"]; costume designer Catherine Bouchard ["The Little Thief", "What's Life?", "Class Trip" and "Officer's Ward"]; set decoration by Sandrine Mauvezin ["My New Partner", "Terminale", "The Bourne Identity" and "Part Time Cops"]; cinematograhpy by Rémy Chevrin ["What She Wrote", "Doctor Chance", "Princesses" and "Don't Make Trouble!"]; produced by Laurent Pétin ["Taxi", "Taxi 2", "Murderous Maids" and "Bon voyage"] and Michèle Pétin ["Suture", "Rosetta", "Women or Children First", "Taxi 3" and "Bon voyage"]; casting by Brigitte Moidon ["Les Sanguinaires", "What's Life?", "The Taste Of Others", "Brotherhood Of The Wolf" and "A Private Affair"]. Casting About "Monsieur Ibrahim" stars .......
Omar Sharif ["Lawrence of Arabia", "Doctor Zhivago", "Ashanti", "Grand Larceny" and "The 13th Warrior"]; Gilbert Melki ["Betty", "The Ice Rink", "Monsieur Naphtali", "Chili con carne", "Nearest to Heaven" and "Intimate Strangers "]; Isabelle Renauld ["Les Fugitifs", "Hôtel de France", "Attitudes" and "Perfect Love"]; Lola Naymark ["Riches, belles et cruelles" and "A Common Thread"]; Anne Suarez ["Adolphe" and "Les Côtelettes"]; Mata Gabin ["U.Man", "Lumumba" and "Mama Aloko"]; Céline Samie ["Summer Interlude", "Trouble Every Day", "Love Street" and "Read My Lips"]; Isabelle Adjani ["Faustine and the Beautiful Summer ", "The Bronte Sisters", "Quartet" and "Bon Voyage"] with Eric Caravaca ["What's Life?", "Empty Days", "Officer's Ward" and "Soldiers of Salamina"] as the older "Momo" and Pierre Boulanger ["Monsieur Ibrahim"] as Moses "Momo" Schmitt. The Story

"Director Francois Depeyron evokes the look and feel of nostalgia extremely well, recalling films like 'Cinema Paradiso' for their wistfulness and charm." Eric D Snider ERICDSNIDER.COM

Two unlikely people are about to become friends and undertake a cultural adventure that will enrich their lives. Momo is a Jewish teenager being brought up by his father in a suburb of Paris in the early sixties. They have little in common and Momo longs for the return of his mother and older brother. Maybe his bookworm father will appreciate the lad better if they were all together once more. Feeling the tug of manhood, Momo seeks and finds pleasure through the beautiful young prostitutes who ply their trade on the streets where he lives. Momo appears to be an innocent teenager but he has plenty of bravado. And he doesn't fool local grocery store owner Monsieur Ibrahim. Ibrahim knows Momo is stealing from him and using the items as gifts to win over the local prostitutes. When Momo's father deserts him, Monsieur Ibrahim decides it's time Momo was taught some real lessons about life. But can a Jew and an Arab become friends. It seems they can. This friendship brings new life to both Ibrahim and Momo. A grand adventure is about to get underway for both of them. The Verdict "Could what appears to be a saucy little coming of age story, actually be a cleverly contrived call for religious tolerance? You'll have to see "Monsieur Ibraham" to find out the answer to that gem of a question. Omar Sharif came out of retirment to make this subtle little dish of a French film. After seeing his superb performance in "Monsieur Ibraham", you'll be glad he did. Highly Recommended." The Cast

Omar Sharif Pierre Boulanger Gilbert Melki Isabelle Renauld Lola Naymark Anne Suarez Mata Gabin Céline Samie Isabelle Adjani Guillaume Gallienne Guillaume Rannou Manuel Lelièvre Daniel Znyk Françoise Armelle Sylvie Herbert Claude Merlin Pascal Vincent Tessa Volkine Marie-Sophie Ahmadi Maryse Déol Gérard Bôle du Chaumont François Toumarkine Sylvie Debrun Jérémy Sitbon Eric Caravaca

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Monsieur Ibrahim Demirdji Moses "Momo" Schmitt Momo's Father Momo's Mother Myriam Sylvie Fatou Eva The Star Car Salesman The Director Driving School Instructor Policeman Schoolmistress Testgiver Notary Secondhand Bookseller Myriam's Mother Nadia Administrative Worker #1 Administrative Worker #2 Administrative Worker #3 Administrative Worker #4 Momo at 8 Years Old Momo at 30 Years Old

The Crew Directed by François Dupeyron From the novel "Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran" by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt Screenplay by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt Produced by Laurent Pétin and Michèle Pétin Cinematography by Rémy Chevrin Film Editing by Dominique Faysse Casting by Brigitte Moidon Production Design by Katia Wyszkop Set Decoration by Sandrine Mauvezin Costume Design by Catherine Bouchard Production Manager Francis Barrois Unit Manager Philippe Baisadouli Run Time 94 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Sony Pictures Classics - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved