Momo (film)
Encyclopedia
Momo is a 1986 fantasy
film
directed by Johannes Schaaf and based on the 1973 novel by Michael Ende
. It is about the concept of time
and how it is used by humans in modern societies. The film features the final acting role of actor/writer/ director John Huston
There is also an animated cartoon (2001) distributed by Disney but only in Italian entitled Momo alla conquista del tempo which features a soundtrack by Gianna Nannini
, an Italian popular singer who has developed into something of a torch singer with a flair for dramatic delivery. She sings several songs in the film.
just outside an unnamed Italian city lives Momo, a little girl of mysterious origin. She is remarkable in the neighbourhood because she has the extraordinary ability to listen — really listen. By simply being with people and listening to them, she can help them find answers to their problems, make up with each other, and think of fun games.
This pleasant atmosphere is spoiled by the arrival of the Men in Grey
. These strange individuals represent the Timesavings Bank and promote the idea of timesaving among the population, time which can be deposited to the Bank and returned to the client later with interest
. In reality, the more time people save, the less they have. The time they save is actually lost to them, consumed by the Men in Grey. Momo, however, is a wrench in the plans of the Timesaving Bank thanks to her special personality.
In the cartoon Momo finds her way up to an elevated realm of a master time keeper who contrives to stop time long enough for Momo to sabotage a meeting of the gray men long enough to close their time vault when they need it, causing them to all disappear into their own cigar smoke, after which she can open the vault and release everyone's time which returns as a river of flower petals.
did not follow the spirit of the book faithfully enough, requested that he was involved more directly in filming Momo.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Johannes Schaaf and based on the 1973 novel by Michael Ende
Michael Ende
Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende was a German author of fantasy and children's literature. He is best known for his epic fantasy work The Neverending Story; other famous works include Momo and Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver...
. It is about the concept of time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
and how it is used by humans in modern societies. The film features the final acting role of actor/writer/ director John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
There is also an animated cartoon (2001) distributed by Disney but only in Italian entitled Momo alla conquista del tempo which features a soundtrack by Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".-Personal life:...
, an Italian popular singer who has developed into something of a torch singer with a flair for dramatic delivery. She sings several songs in the film.
Synopsis
In the ruins of an amphitheatreAmphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
just outside an unnamed Italian city lives Momo, a little girl of mysterious origin. She is remarkable in the neighbourhood because she has the extraordinary ability to listen — really listen. By simply being with people and listening to them, she can help them find answers to their problems, make up with each other, and think of fun games.
This pleasant atmosphere is spoiled by the arrival of the Men in Grey
Grey
Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...
. These strange individuals represent the Timesavings Bank and promote the idea of timesaving among the population, time which can be deposited to the Bank and returned to the client later with interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
. In reality, the more time people save, the less they have. The time they save is actually lost to them, consumed by the Men in Grey. Momo, however, is a wrench in the plans of the Timesaving Bank thanks to her special personality.
In the cartoon Momo finds her way up to an elevated realm of a master time keeper who contrives to stop time long enough for Momo to sabotage a meeting of the gray men long enough to close their time vault when they need it, causing them to all disappear into their own cigar smoke, after which she can open the vault and release everyone's time which returns as a river of flower petals.
Author involvement
This film was an Italian/German production in which Michael Ende himself played a small role. It appears that Ende, unhappy with how the film based on The Neverending StoryThe Neverending Story
The Neverending Story is a German fantasy novel by Michael Ende, first published in 1979. The standard English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was first published in 1983...
did not follow the spirit of the book faithfully enough, requested that he was involved more directly in filming Momo.