Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Touches You

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

This film manifests all that is degenerate about the "coming of age" genre: saccharine sentimentality, numbing cliché, jarringly unsubtle plot devices. Don't be fooled by apparent spiciness of a movie about a sixteen-year-old boy's experimentation with prostitutes. This movie is entirely conventional. And you won't be able to redeem your one-and-a-half hours by just listening to the soundtrack. It's crap too. All of the dramatic tension is relieved after forty minutes, which means that the film wanders aimlessly and pointlessly for another forty. Omar Sharif's commentary on the DVD is similarly inane. There is really nothing to be said in favour of this movie along any dimension.

There's always so much at stake when trying to film novels. So many people have to be pleased, that some will, unfortunately, be left on the outside. But the idea is to remain faithful to the book and make the right choices when casting. If it were to be ideal, the script should cover more ground than the dialogs from within the book, and the director's vision should merge with the contents and atmosphere of the novel. I dare say, "Monsieur Ibrahim" comes very close in all these regards.As a matter of fact it remains nearly 100% faithful to the source: Momo, a young boy living in Paris, neglected by his father, discovers the world around him through women, love and Monsieur Ibrahim, the grocer from the other side of the street. It's a charming and, at times, moving story, mainly because of its innocence. Remaining innocent is always hard. The movie's feel is amazing, as it will probably ease anyone's transcend into Paris of the sixties.Yet, as the end came near, I remained with the regret that the story wasn't improved on...but maybe improve isn't the perfect word. It's a matter of extrapolation, of a greater perspective. A little bit of something more for those who read the book, some kind of innovation.The movie's end is all that doesn't abide by the book and while I do not consider the choice taken as appropriate, it is arguably good enough to pass. It comes down to stressing some ideas.There's little...fundamentalism to be found in "Monsieur Ibrahim". And that's what makes it even more beautiful.

I have one very general criticism of this movie. I'm just going to try and kind of argue it out as I write. Well, the style of the movie is quite light-hearted. But it also deals with quite serious subject matter. It has its funny, sad and touching moments but never has them in the extreme: poignant, hilarious or tragic moments. But, I hear you say, Momo's father leaving, is pretty tragic. So is Momo disowning his mother and Paul not being real and Ibrahim dying. I agree, they are very tragic, but none of them (except perhaps the latter) is made to really jerk the tears out of an audience. That is not their purpose in the film. Now, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing at all: to have a light-hearted style for serious content. In fact, it's quite refreshing and matter of fact that way. And the film, I think, successfully uses this style. Except for one thing. All this serious stuff they deal with, it's just the background to the story. The real story is the friendship/ relationship between Ibrahim and Momo, and in the process all these additional strands of the story, which each could have easily become the main one, get kind of glossed over. Told quickly, without depth. And so in the process I find, that no story gets told very deeply at all. The real point is made yes, and in a subtle way, but we're still left (or I am left) with a few questions and a wee bit of emptiness. For example, I really wanted to know what Momo thought about Paul's apparent non-existence. But, it is never mentioned again in the film. We are just left to fathom out who was lying, as Momo is, but we don't get any feedback on what was a pretty important...thing (couldn't think of a word) in his life. I actually really liked this film, but the more I think about it, the more I find this fault bothering me. That nothing is explored to it's fullest. Even the build up of Ibrahim's and Momo's relationship is kind of rushed. And their trip to Turkey doesn't add all that much to the film. I appreciate the fact that this may be the director's strategy. On some days, the uneventful-ness of Blue Street is captured really well. But the trip to Turkey is kind of like a bunch of tourist shots. Well, I said I'd argue myself out. And I think I certainly went round in a few circles there. But, my main point was: I don't think so many seemingly momentous/dramatic events in Momo's life should have been put in, if they were going to be unexplored and redundant.

This film is a wonderful example of how one can choose to be a victim or a hero in life! The abrupt start to the movie lets one see the boy's situation immediately. Using the grocery money given to him by his father, he goes searching for his first sexual experience among the prostitutes he observes from the window of his apartment. He is unsupervised, self-sufficient, curious and in desperate need of guidance. The shopkeeper who has been in this boy's life longer than the boy realizes, steps in to be the uplifting and guiding force for him. Initially, I felt a little troubled by the use of the two religions and putting one in a less-kind light. However, I realized that the viewpoint had nothing to do with the religion, rather with the person and how they chose to deal with their life. I will recommend this movie to many people!