Monsieur Ibrahim

Monsieur Ibrahim
Film poster
Directed by	François Dupeyron
Written by	Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt François Dupeyron
Based on	Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Produced by	Laurent Pétin Michèle Pétin
Starring	Omar Sharif Pierre Boulanger Gilbert Melki Isabelle Renauld Lola Naymark Isabelle Adjani
Cinematography	Rémy Chevrin
Edited by	Dominique Faysse
Distributed by	ARP Sélection
Release date	17 September 2003 (2003-09-17)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Budget	€5.3 million
Box office	$11.6 million

Monsieur Ibrahim (original title: Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran; (French pronunciation: [məsjø ibʁaim e le flœʁ dy kɔʁɑ̃], Mister Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qur'an) is a 2003 French drama film starring Omar Sharif, and directed by François Dupeyron. The film is based on a book by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt.

Plot

The story unfolds in a working-class neighborhood in the Paris of the 1960s. The protagonist, Moїse Schmidt (Momo), is a young Jewish boy growing up without a mother and with a father afflicted by crippling depression. Momo is fascinated by the elderly Turkish Muslim man, Ibrahim Demirci, who runs a grocery store across the street from his apartment (where Momo often shoplifts). Their relationship develops and soon Momo feels closer to Ibrahim than to his father. Ibrahim affectionately calls Moїse Momo, and adopts him when his father leaves and commits suicide. Momo and Ibrahim go on a journey in their new car to Turkey, Ibrahim's native country, where Momo learns about Ibrahim's culture. At the end of their adventure, Ibrahim is killed in a car crash and Momo returns to Paris to take over the shop.

Cast

• Omar Sharif as Monsieur Ibrahim
• Pierre Boulanger as Momo
• Gilbert Melki as Momo's father
• Isabelle Renauld as Momo's mother
• Lola Naymark as Myriam
• Anne Suarez as Sylvie
• Mata Gabin as Fatou
• Celine Samie as Eva
• Isabelle Adjani as The Movie Star

Awards and nominations

• César Award, Best Actor 2004: Omar Sharif
• Chicago International Film Festival, Silver Hugo for Best Male Performance 2003: Pierre Boulanger
• Venice International Film Festival, Audience Award, Best Actor 2003: Omar Sharif

Also nominated for several awards, including the 2004 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.

See also

• Sufism

External links

• Monsieur Ibrahim at IMDb 
• Monsieur Ibrahim at Rotten Tomatoes
• Monsieur Ibrahim at Metacritic
• Monsieur Ibrahim at Box Office Mojo
• Sony website for Monsieur Ibrahim
• "What is in it", a related Sufi tale from Idries Shah's Wisdom of the Idiots