''Momo'' is a 1986

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

film directed by

Johannes Schaaf Johannes Schaaf (7 April 1933 – 1 November 2019) was a German film, theatre and opera director and actor. Several of his films have been internationally recognized. His focus shifted to opera in the 1980s and he worked with many of the leading i ...

and based on the 1973 novel ''

Momo Momo may refer to: Geography * Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon * Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon * Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy * Joffrey Tower, in ...

'' by

Michael Ende Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende (12 November 1929 – 28 August 1995) was a German writer of fantasy and children's fiction. He is known for his epic fantasy ''The Neverending Story'' (with its 1980s film adaptation and a 1995 animated television ...

. It is about the concept of

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

and how it is used by humans in modern societies. The film features the final acting role of actor / writer / director John Huston.

Synopsis

In the ruins of an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

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 (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

. 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 finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...

. 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.

Cast

* Radost Bokel - Momo * Leopoldo Trieste - Beppo * Bruno Stori - Gigi *

Mario Adorf Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...

- Nicola *

Armin Mueller-Stahl Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German film actor, painter and author, who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role i ...

- leader of grey men * John Huston - Meister Hora *

Concetta Russino Concetta is an Italian female given name. Notable people with the name include: *Concetta Tomei, American actress *Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Australian politician * Concetta M. Tomaino, business woman * Concetta DiRusso, American scientist *Conc ...

- Liliana * Sylvester Groth - agent BLW/553 X *

Ninetto Davoli Giovanni "Ninetto" Davoli (born 11 October 1948) is an Italian actor who became known through his roles in several of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films. Biography Davoli was born in San Pietro a Maida, Calabria. He was discovered by poet, novelist ...

- Nino * Francesco De Rosa - Herr Fusi *

Elide Melli Elide Melli (born 29 November 1952) is an Italian actress. She appeared in more than ten films since 1979. Selected filmography References External links * 1952 births Living people Italian film actresses {{Italy-film-actor-s ...

- Frau Daria *

- train passenger (writer of the story told by Master Hora)

Author involvement

This film was a German-Italian co-production in which Michael Ende himself played the role of the passenger in the train (who is told the story by Master Hora and writes it down). It appears that Ende, unhappy with how the film based on ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several ...

'' did not follow the spirit of the book faithfully enough, requested to be involved more directly in filming ''Momo''.

External links

Momo trailer
* 1986 films 1986 fantasy films German fantasy films Italian fantasy films German children's films West German films Films based on children's books Films based on fantasy novels Films based on German novels Films directed by Johannes Schaaf Films produced by Horst Wendlandt Films set in Italy Films about time 1980s Italian films 1980s German films {{fantasy-film-stub