The setting is a lower-class Jewish neighborhood in Paris in the 1960s. The story revolves around the relationship between Moses (Pierre Boulanger), a teenage Jewish boy, and Ibrahim Denejia (Omar Sharif), a neighboring Sufi grocer. Ibrahim is referred to as "The Arab" by the locals, even though he is Turkish. Moses (called Momo) has had a difficult childhood--his mother abandoned him and his father is remote and finally deserts him as well. So, Momo is in need of some caring adult, and that is where Ibrahim comes in. The gradual affection between the two is played nicely with Ibrahim ultimately adopting Momo.
This is coming of age story for Momo. One thing that sets it apart is the religious element, since Ibrahim is a Muslim and Momo is a Jew. However, from what we see Momo is a Jew by birth only since his religion does not appear to play a role is his life. Ibrahim often talks of "his Koran" as containing all the knowledge he needs; he dispenses some gentle philosophy as the film progresses. Clearly it is the intent to show that affection and love can surmount cultural and religious differences and the movie generally succeeds in that.
The soundtrack has a lot popular music from the 1960s (and even some from the 1950s like "Rock Around the Clock.") The dance fad "The Madison" from the 1950s and 1960s also plays a part as we see Momo's girlfriend teaching it to him. The music does liven things up a bit in a movie that can be slow.
The last third of the movie stretches belief which is too bad since a more powerful effect could have been had by playing it straight. Beyond being unbelievable, there is a scene that did not make sense to me where Ibrahim temporarily abandons Momo in Turkey, a strange country with a strange language for him. The last third of the movie does contain some beautiful scenery in Turkey.
It is the performances of Sharif and Boulanger that make this worth watching. Sharif's performance is that of an actor who identifies with the role to the point that you are not aware of him as an actor, but rather as Ibrahim. Boulanger has a winning screen presence--for his first time out he is remarkably relaxed and believable.
This is coming of age story for Momo. One thing that sets it apart is the religious element, since Ibrahim is a Muslim and Momo is a Jew. However, from what we see Momo is a Jew by birth only since his religion does not appear to play a role is his life. Ibrahim often talks of "his Koran" as containing all the knowledge he needs; he dispenses some gentle philosophy as the film progresses. Clearly it is the intent to show that affection and love can surmount cultural and religious differences and the movie generally succeeds in that.
The soundtrack has a lot popular music from the 1960s (and even some from the 1950s like "Rock Around the Clock.") The dance fad "The Madison" from the 1950s and 1960s also plays a part as we see Momo's girlfriend teaching it to him. The music does liven things up a bit in a movie that can be slow.
The last third of the movie stretches belief which is too bad since a more powerful effect could have been had by playing it straight. Beyond being unbelievable, there is a scene that did not make sense to me where Ibrahim temporarily abandons Momo in Turkey, a strange country with a strange language for him. The last third of the movie does contain some beautiful scenery in Turkey.
It is the performances of Sharif and Boulanger that make this worth watching. Sharif's performance is that of an actor who identifies with the role to the point that you are not aware of him as an actor, but rather as Ibrahim. Boulanger has a winning screen presence--for his first time out he is remarkably relaxed and believable.