"Monsieur Ibrahim" tells the tale of a Jewish boy coming of age in a poor Parisian neighborhood under the watchful eye of a kindly old Muslim who runs the local minimart (the title character, Sharif). A sort of easy going slice-of-life and coming-of-age flick in which a kindly old man shares his Islamic wisdom with a young boy who is mastering puberty in fine style as he takes on the local street walkers, learns than stealing is bad without losing a hand, and gets jilted by his kinda/sorta sweetheart, etc. Though the film isn't going to make cinema history, it does muster some warmth, poignancy, and charm with minimal subtitles and ample golden oldie pop music. Should make for a pleasant watch for those into foreign flix about people. (B)
