The Reel Critic

Author: STEPHANIE DOSCH

Paris, 1960s. A black woman wearing a blond wig and a green dress with white polka-dots stands seductively on a street corner. A Jewish boy in his mid-teens watches her from a window above, practicing his lines, "Hello. It's a hot one. How much?" He finally gets up the nerve to talk to her, but she rejects him. He tries his luck elsewhere, and finally, on his 16th birthday, Moses becomes a man.

So begins François Dupeyron's "Monsieur Ibrahim," a touching movie about a Turkish grocer and the Jewish boy he befriends. Monsieur Ibrahim, played by Omar Sharif ("Doctor Zhivago"), runs the deli across the street from the apartment that Moses (Pierre Boulanger) shares with his father. Moses comes in every day to buy groceries for dinner, and Monsieur Ibrahim takes a liking to him, calling him Momo.

Momo, however, does not reciprocate. He often shoplifts cans of food, justifying by saying he doesn't care, Ibrahim is an Arab. As if reading Momo's thoughts, the old man says "I'm not an Arab, Momo. I'm from the Golden Crescent." When Momo asks why his father always tells him to go to the Arab's, Ibrahim answers "Arab means open from 8 a.m. till midnight, even on a Sunday, in the grocery trade."

But when Momo's father disappears abruptly, leaving Momo only a note and some cash, Ibrahim begins to grow on him. He is intrigued by the old man's enigmatic references about the Koran, taking Momo on walks, buying him new shoes. He even tells Momo that the boy owes him nothing for the cans he took.

Throughout their relationship, Ibrahim teaches Momo the ways of the world - the power of a smile, how to deal with women. Momo falls in love with the girl who lives downstairs, but still sells his father's books so he can visit the women of Blue Road. When the police report that Momo's father's body has been found, Ibrahim volunteers to adopt the boy as his own. He buys a car, learns how to drive it and the two set off across Europe to Turkey.

"Monsieur Ibrahim" isn't an amazing movie, but it has many appealing qualities. Omar Sharif is wonderful as the old grocer who loves his wife and "knows what's in his Koran," and newcomer Pierre Boulanger captures Momo. The movie is lovingly filmed, with warm lighting evoking the hot summer and beautiful shots of Turkey's rugged landscapes. Perhaps most notable is the soundtrack - the American rock-and-roll and its French counterpart "le yeye," so popular with teenagers in the mid 1960s.

No, "Monsieur Ibrahim," like its characters, isn't amazing - it's just a nice story about the unique friendship between two characters of different generations and faiths.

"Monsieur Ibrahim" is this week's Hirschfield film, and is playing in Dana Auditorium at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. In French with English subtitles.