'MONSIEUR' HITS THE RIGHT NOTES.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

THE GENTLE WISDOM and palpable nostalgia that fuels ``Monsieur Ibrahim'' will tug at the hearts of anyone who came of age loving the French New Wave, Stax soul music and Omar Sharif. Not that you have to be 100 percent behind these three interests, but it helps. The movie is a particular gift to anyone who has followed the career of Sharif and lamented that he hasn't been memorably showcased since his 1960s heyday with David Lean.

French director Francois Dupeyron (``Officer's Ward'') has done such a stylish job in committing ``Ibrahim'' to film that you'd never guess it was playing off-Broadway earlier this year in what was essentially a monologue titled ``Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran.'' In adapting Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's play, Dupeyron has opened up this heartfelt coming-of-age story and filled it with bracing bits of beauty.

The movie's building blocks are stock-issue, but they're assembled with such affection and subtlety that it's hard to resist. Momo (Pierre Boulanger) lives in the Place Pigalle, and from his window he watches the stylish prostitutes patrolling the sidewalk. In his midteens and eager for some experience, Momo breaks his piggy bank and splurges. The whole encounter is improbably wonderful and even a little bit wholesome, but then, ``Ibrahim'' has a way of recalling the past with an eye that emphasizes innocence, however imagined.

Momo's father (Gilbert Melki) is distant and uncaring (the kid has to buy himself a birthday cake), and his mother abandoned the family years ago. That void in his life leads him to Ibrahim (Sharif), a humble sage who runs the corner grocery. Their friendship is mutually beneficial: Ibrahim listens to Momo, cares for him and stokes the boy's dormant intellectual curiosity; Momo gives the old man a purpose for living.

Dupeyron never allows ``Ibrahim'' to dissolve into preachiness or easy sentimentality, letting the story unfold at its own pace and go to unexpected places. The movie is filled with the spirit of Jean-Luc Godard, including a great little scene where Ibrahim and Momo bond while watching Godard shoot ``Contempt.'' And then there's Sharif, never better, giving a profound sense of humanity to a simple man who possesses a lifetime of common sense. This is a beautiful little gem of a movie.

MONSIEUR IBRAHIM - Three stars

(R: some sexual content. In French with English subtitles.)

Starring: Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger.

Director: Francois Dupeyron.

Running time: 1 hr. 31 min.

Playing: One-week Oscar-qualifying run at Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood. Returns Feb. 13, 2004.

In a nutshell: Sweet coming-of-age story works for anyone who loves the French New Wave, Stax soul music and Omar Sharif.

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Omar Sharif is the grocer who befriends a young boy in ``Monsieur Ibrahim.''