Wintertijd

Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran

The wind has been knocked out of me. Recently I haven't been writing much here, and haven't taken many photo's either. Generally I can say I feel uninspired to do anything. Certain things, however, are just too beautiful not to mention. Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran, or as the American title goes, Monsieur Ibrahim, is one of those things. The film opens up with a scene in which a youth aged 15 smashes his piggy bank in order to get enough money to make it with a prostitute. His father has forgotten his birthday, so he creates his own party. It's a summer in the sixties, and the backdrop is the red light district of Paris.

The young man in question is Moses Schmitt, the son of an estranged and depressing father and a mother who abandoned them. A Jewish kid in a dodgy neighbourhood. As the story unfolds the father abandones him too and he is taken care of by the elderly Turkish shopkeeper across the street. The man is a Sufi Muslim and is generally referred to as "The Arab". The arab meaning "open between six in the morning and twelve at night, 365 days a year".

Ibrahim ends up adopting Moses, and together they take a trip across the European continent to visit Turkey. The whole movie mildly preaches understanding. After the final scene the Tim Thomas song "Why can't we Live Together" cuts in, and that is an excellent summary of this movie. It is a wonderful story of a Jewish boy and a Muslim gentlemen's friendship.

On top of that, the whole movie's photography is exceedingly beautiful. The camera work is just really top notch and beautiful, but also somehow understated. Wether it's the busy streets of the Parisian Red Light district, or the rolling mountaneous landscape of Turkey, it all looks very very good. The lighting, composition and atmosphere are just really well done.

The acting is much of the same caliber. I rarely enjoy French movies because I feel everyone's always over-acting in them. For those that don't know what I'm talking about, check out 8 Femmes, the only movie I ever walked out of the theatre for. This movie however is a pleasant exception to that rule. The acting is sober, understated and extremely well done. A lot is said without words, or just with a few words in the right places.

Then the Soundtrack is great, the settings are great, the moral implications of the content are great... Cut a long story short, this is one of the better movies I've seen lately. Period. And it's available in a Videotheque near you.

So go out and rent or buy it. And then live up to it.

Posted by Chris at August 13, 2005 12:23 PM