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Monsieur Ibrahim
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    90
    Surely there is room in the movies for a small film with an unabashed, even old-fashioned but timeless humanist spirit -- and a triumphant portrayal by a veteran star that is likely to be regarded as one of the year's best.
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    Most movingly, Monsieur Ibrahim takes a provocative subject -- friendship and love between a Jew and a Muslim -- and makes it seem natural and wondrous.
  3. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    88
    Tender but never sappy, Monsieur Ibrahim brings two people of vastly different age and background together in ways that are touching, and telling. It's a small, glowing gem.
  4. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    88
    Monsieur Ibrahim is about people interacting as people, not symbols (one reason, Sharif has said, he took the role was to help his grandchildren's generation understand that idea).
  5. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    83
    Warmhearted lesson in tolerance.
  6. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    83
    A gracefully subtle, sweet-spirited French parable of the brotherhood of man that was nominated for a Golden Globe, won Omar Sharif a César Award for best actor and has been a surprise hit in Europe.
  7. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    80
    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.
  8. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    80
    A movie suffused with a warm glow of nostalgia for times and music and movies gone by.
  9. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Its best scenes come as the characters are established and get to know one another. Sharif at 71 still has the fire in his eyes that we remember from "Lawrence of Arabia," and is still a handsome presence.
  10. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    Omar Sharif certainly doesn't disappoint in Monsieur Ibrahim. The casting alone promises something extraordinary.
  11. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    The script falters at the end, as the two reach the Turkish village where Ibrahim was raised. But the winning performances -- and killer '60s soundtrack -- save the day.
  12. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    75
    Adapted from a French play but never seems stage- bound.
  13. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    75
    The movie has a couple of surprises, including a major plot turn at the end that leads to a memorable resolution somewhere between happy and wistful.
  14. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    75
    With the careful timing and nuance of a master actor, Sharif turns a two-dimensional sketch into the film's most absorbing character.
  15. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    75
    The movie is sometimes profound in its simple, optimistic message of friendship -- and sometimes it's plain simple.
  16. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Duane Byrge
    70
    Both an appealing coming-of-age yarn and, as Monsieur Ibrahim embraces his own mortality, a heartfelt coming-of-aging saga.
  17. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    Boulanger is completely captivating as the kind of kid Truffaut would have adored, but it's Sharif's show. Next to his portrayal of Yuri in "Dr. Zhivago", this may be role for which he'll be best remembered.
  18. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    70
    Adapting a novel by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, François Dupeyron uses handheld cameras and some jarring edits, but, prostitutes and all, this is storybook material: heartfelt, pleasant, cuddly, and a little too insubstantial to stick in the mind for long.
  19. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Leslie Camhi
    70
    Unusual in its ambition to pose deep spiritual questions, but its enticing surfaces -- including the beautiful working girls and Isabelle Adjani's surprise cameo as a Bardot-esque starlet -- are the best thing about it.
  20. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    70
    The two central performances help the lesson go down easily, and Mr. Duperyon's unassuming, slightly ragged realism gives the movie a sweet, lived-in charm. Mr. Sharif, grizzled and white-haired at 71, has lost none of the charisma that made him an international movie star in the 1960's, and Mr. Boulanger, in his first feature film, shows impressive self-assurance.
  21. Variety
    Reviewed by: Deborah Young
    70
    Unshaven and twinkling-eyed, Sharif is professionally light and entertaining in the title role.
  22. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Meredith Brody
    70
    Sentimental.
  23. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Steve Davis
    67
    The titular role of Monsieur Ibrahim is not a terribly taxing one, but Sharif effortlessly demonstrates that he still has the stuff that made him a star so many years ago – he exudes a charismatic appeal that is apparently timeless.
  24. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    63
    It is a treat to see Sharif back on the screen and Boulanger is a pleasure to watch. They make Monsieur Ibrahim better than it is.
  25. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    63
    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.
  26. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    Agreeable enough motion picture, but not one that leaves any sort of lasting impression.
  27. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    63
    Among the lessons that Monsieur Ibrahim conveys to Moses, and the most appealing aspect of the film, is to delight in sensual pleasure.
  28. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Melissa Levine
    60
    By the end, Monsieur Ibrahim's determination to be lighthearted in the face of tragedy is a little wearying.
  29. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    60
    At least we have the chance to see Sharif again, with our memory of the sun behind him, even though this film is not much more than a sweetmeat--Turkish delight.
  30. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    While the story is sentimental, heartfelt acting makes its impact less manipulative.
  31. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    50
    Excusez-moi, but I'd rather see Omar Sharif punching out croupiers in a casino than dispensing comfort and joy in this sugared-up tale.
  32. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Phil Hall
    40
    Maybe someday an enterprising filmmaker will make a film about this forgotten chapter in Muslim-Jewish relations. It would be a lot more compelling and memorable than the nonsense in Monsieur Ibrahim.
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User Reviews

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User Score
9.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Kat
    10
    I wanted to use words like "graceful" and "wistful" and while they were true, they didn't seem to be strong enough for this powerful movie. The man and boy are brought to life by two amazing actors. It is a combination of a sort of coming-of-age movie, and a sort of understanding-religious-tolerance movie, and a bit of educational movie on the Mid-East, but you never feel you are being "informed." You are in it for the unraveling of a marvelous story, mainly about the growth of a friendship. This unlikely mutually beneficial friendship was one of those "coincidences" that changed lives for the better.… Full Review »
  2. Cyril
    10
    I have been asking myself recently: In this Hollywood/Bollywood movie world filled with shallow stereotypes and money making divas, is it possible to make a truly spiritual movie that will introduce some very quiet and smiling vibration into the heart, a movie that will be a success both spiritually and commercially? François Dupeyron succeeds admirably in this task. Like any major work of art the movie is multi-faceted and can be interpreted on many levels: material as a coming-of-age story of waking sexuality and finding your place in the world, emotional as a tragedy of a family and a vivid description of psychological troubles we deal with in life or, finally, spirutual, with life being a mystic experience and the "adventure of consciousness and joy" as Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo put it. The subtlety of the movie is that it is all based on nuances - we don't see openly raging emotions and all the psychological "play" is presented by some almost imperceptible but very powerful symbols of what is happening in the consciousness of the character -like the hat- the symbol of his old life - that Momo is helplessly kneading in his hands after he received bad news. The movie is about what we are all trying to do in life, sometimes without even realizing it: psychological liberation. The process of it does not end with teenage years even though some people lose the ability or desire to analyze and work on their conditioning. Monsieur Ibrahim as he says himself "knows his Koran", he shows the boy inner truth and inner path of freedom from our own inhibitions, mastery over one's nature and also shows by his very daily acts that in the world and life there are no sacred figures to be adored blindly or just because everyone does it, that the true religion lies where all religions in the world converge into some shining truth and all difference between Islam, Christianity or Hinduism disappers and the world becomes one, an "inner religion". One can call this approach Sufi, but it is only one of the names. Too bad in the United States the second part of the movie title (the Flowers of Koran) was missed out, but ...well...no comment... Excellent acting and casting. Mr. Sharif is superb in every respect. Mr. Boulanger deserves a special mention: very self confident at the same time not showy without teenage lust for fame and stardom one can expect at that age. The movie can be called one of the "inner" movies that shows more the inner life than outer and through the eyes of the characters - during the journey to Turkey we see the country through the eyes of someone who lived there and there is a very comfortable feeling that we - just like Momo himself - found ourselves in the country we never were before but that still is very comfortable and looks and sounds strangely familiar. One of the most amazing episodes if the "whirling dervishes" scene but one has to see it and hear the voice over. The very end of the movie showing the "circle of life" seems to be a bit too rationalistic and more like a mechanical repetition, instead of living and developing process of life and spiritual thruth. Some things are better left untold or shown indirectly. Besides, Momo because of his age and apparent lack of spiritual wisdom seems unnatural and "wearing someone else's clothes" in the final scene. Overall, the movie is the kind that is able to tell a lot, only if you can see and listen. It is very real and sincere both in terms of emotional, psychological problems people deal with in life and their solutions. At the same time the movie avoids religious moralizing and has great, very subtle sense of humor. Unfortunately I don't know enough about mystical side of Sufism to be able to enjoy and appreciate Sufi or Islam imagery even more. … Full Review »
  3. Cyril
    10
    I have been asking myself recently: In this Hollywood/Bollywood movie world filled with shallow stereotypes and money making divas, is it possible to make a truly spiritual movie that will introduce some very quiet and smiling vibration into the heart, a movie that will be a success both spiritually and commercially? François Dupeyron succeeds admirably in this task. Like any major work of art the movie is multi-faceted and can be interpreted on many levels: material as a coming-of-age story of waking sexuality and finding your place in the world, emotional as a tragedy of a family and a vivid description of psychological troubles we deal with in life or, finally, spirutual, with life being a mystic experience and the "adventure of consciousness and joy" as Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo put it. The subtlety of the movie is that it is all based on nuances - we don't see openly raging emotions and all the psychological "play" is presented by some almost imperceptible but very powerful symbols of what is happening in the consciousness of the character -like the hat- the symbol of his old life - that Momo is helplessly kneading in his hands after he received bad news. The movie is about what we are all trying to do in life, sometimes without even realizing it: psychological liberation. The process of it does not end with teenage years even though some people lose the ability or desire to analyze and work on their conditioning. Monsieur Ibrahim as he says himself "knows his Koran", he shows the boy inner truth and inner path of freedom from our own inhibitions, mastery over one's nature and also shows by his very daily acts that in the world and life there are no sacred figures to be adored blindly or just because everyone does it, that the true religion lies where all religions in the world converge into some shining truth and all difference between Islam, Christianity or Hinduism disappers and the world becomes one, an "inner religion". One can call this approach Sufi, but it is only one of the names. Too bad in the United States the second part of the movie title (the Flowers of Koran) was missed out, but ...well...no comment... Excellent acting and casting. Mr. Sharif is superb in every respect. Mr. Boulanger deserves a special mention: very self confident at the same time not showy without teenage lust for fame and stardom one can expect at that age. The movie can be called one of the "inner" movies that shows more the inner life than outer and through the eyes of the characters - during the journey to Turkey we see the country through the eyes of someone who lived there and there is a very comfortable feeling that we - just like Momo himself - found ourselves in the country we never were before but that still is very comfortable and looks and sounds strangely familiar. One of the most amazing episodes if the "whirling dervishes" scene but one has to see it and hear the voice over. The very end of the movie showing the "circle of life" seems to be a bit too rationalistic and more like a mechanical repetition, instead of living and developing process of life and spiritual thruth. Some things are better left untold or shown indirectly. Besides, Momo because of his age and apparent lack of spiritual wisdom seems unnatural and "wearing someone else's clothes" in the final scene. Overall, the movie is the kind that is able to tell a lot, only if you can see and listen. It is very real and sincere both in terms of emotional, psychological problems people deal with in life and their solutions. At the same time the movie avoids religious moralizing and has great, very subtle sense of humor. Unfortunately I don't know enough about mystical side of Sufism to be able to enjoy and appreciate Sufi or Islam imagery even more. … Full Review »
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