By Nate Feldman
Synopsis: Moses, a 16 year old Jewish boy in Paris, lives with his emotionally cold and distant father. He has begun saving up enough money to have sexual relations with local prostitutes.
Meanwhile, Moses begins a friendship with Ibrahim, a Turkish Muslim shopkeeper who begins to see Moses, who he refers to as Momo, as a kind of surrogate son. He provides free food and supplies to him and begins teaching him about Islam.
Moses, who has gained enough experience with the prostitutes, now has the confidence to try amd start a relationship with Myriam, a neighbor of his he has a crush on. Though she initially shows interest back, he later catches her making out with another guy.
Moses' father loses his job and then one day decides to abandon his son altogether. Later, it is discovered that he has committed suicide by running in front of a train.
Ibrahim decides to adopt Moses. After much rejection, he is successful. Ibrahim then gets a car and decides to leave France with Moses and goes on a car trip to Turkey, where he teaches his newly adopted son about Islam, and specifically about Sufism, the mystical form of Islam that Ibrahim is an adherent of.
Thoughts: This is a beautiful film with fascinating characters and fantastic cinematography. The chemistry between Moses and Ibrahim is endearing. There is no mention of the conflicts between Muslims and Jews, and without that background knowledge, you would never second guess why the two work so well together.
This movie was released in 2003, only 2 years after the September 11 attacks and at a time where violence between Israel and the Palestinians was, as it tragically still is, at an all-time high. The film, which takes place in what appears to be the 1960s, doesn't focus on those things. It shows a side of the Muslim world, namely Sufism, that is quite different from what is often understood about the religion.
I enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to others.
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