Momo (2001 Film)
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''Momo'' (, also known as ''Momo, the Conquest of Time'') is a 2001
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...
directed by
Enzo D'Alò Enzo D'Alò (born 7 September 1953) is an Italian animator and director. Life and career Born in Naples, D'Alò moved to Turin in 1979 and there he started his career as animator working with the group "La Lanterna Magica". In 1983 he debuted ...
. It is an adaptation of the 1973 fantasy novel '' Momo'' 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 spawned an animated series in 2003. The film won a
Silver Ribbon The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...
for
Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954) is an Italian singer and songwriter. Her most notable songs include "America" (1979), "Fotoromanza" (1984), "I maschi" (1987), "Meravigliosa creatura" (1995), "Sei nell'anima" (2006) and "Bello e impossibile ...
's musical score, and was also nominated for Silver Ribbon for best screenplay.


Plot

Momo is an orphan girl who finds herself in a town, where she makes friends with an old man, Beppo, who loves her as a granddaughter, and with Gigi, a child who immediately falls in love with her. Momo also knows other playmates: Enzo, Bruno, Livia and the little Chicco, who create a house in an ancient amphitheatre, and Cassiopea, a tortoise she finds on the street. But the city is invaded by the Gray Men who convince many people, including the ingenious barber Osvaldo Fusi, that they don't have much time left to live: the Grey Men's goal is to save all the people's time in their special "Bank of the time", which helps them to survive. A Gray Man tries to bribe the little Momo with a very beautiful doll, but she manages to soften the heart of the Gray Man, humanizing him and turning him into a Gray-Pink Man, who admits that they always feel cold and they do not know what the warmth of love is. Momo then decides to immediately warn her friends, who in turn try to warn their parents to stay away from the Gray Men, but it's too late. After having eliminated the Gray-Pink Man, accused to be a traitor, the President of the Gray Men gives the order to capture Momo, who manages to escape from them thanks to Cassiopea, who leads her to a magical place. Momo is welcomed into the home of Master Hora, who controls time assisted by his faithful helpers, the time of day and the time of night, under the guise of a Rooster and an Owl. Master Hora unveils to Momo the true nature of the Gray Men and the secret place where time lives. Momo listens to the Music of Light, a song that can break the spell of the Grey Men and free everyone, but the wise Master Hora tells her that it takes time for her to internalize the music, she has to sleep on it. Momo then goes to sleep, but meanwhile, the quiet town on Earth has turned into a huge metropolis. Poor Beppo, destroyed by the disappearance of Momo, is arrested and kept into an asylum after he tried to denounce the Grey Men to the authorities, and Gigi, who is hired by television, is threatened with dismissal if he keeps looking for Momo. When Master Hora wakes up Momo, the town seems to be lost, but there is a way to save it: stop time. Master Hora can stop time by falling asleep, but only for an hour. The Grey Men steal the hours from the people and turn them into cigars that must smoke continuously, in order to avoid disappearing. If time stops, they can no longer steal hours and will eventually dissolve all. Unfortunately, the evil Grey Men have a reserve of cigars in their Bank and, as long as they can access them, they have enough cigars to survive until the awakening of Hora; Momo should, therefore, be able to keep them away from storage the necessary time. The girl faces the great challenge, helped by Cassiopeia, and manages with purity of soul and kindness to defeat all the Grey Men, freeing all her friends. The town is saved and the sweet Momo can finally re-embrace Beppo; Gigi returns to what it once was and Momo will live happily ever after with her friends. To celebrate, Gigi and Momo dance in the amphitheatre in front of the city's people.


Vocal cast

* as Momo *
Diego Abatantuono Diego Abatantuono (born 20 May 1955) is an Italian cinema and theatre actor, comedian and screenwriter, three-time winner of the Nastro d'Argento. Biography and career Abatantuono was born in Milan to a father of Apulian origin and a mother f ...
as Master Hora *
Giancarlo Giannini Giancarlo Giannini (; born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for '' Seven Beaut ...
as President of the Grey Men *
Sergio Rubini Sergio Rubini (born 21 December 1959) is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Rubini was born in Grumo Appula, Apulia, but soon moved to Rome to study acting. After some roles in theatre, he debuted in a feature f ...
as vice-president of the Grey Men * Neri Marcorè as The Grey-Pink Man (Agent 4587) * as Beppo * as Gigi * as Bruno * Riccardo Rossi as Osvaldo Fusi * as The Owl * as The Rooster * Claudio Sorrentino as The Commissioner * Patrick Donati as Enzo


See also

* List of Italian films of 2001


References


External links

* {{Enzo D'Alò Italian animated feature films German animated feature films 2001 animated films 2001 films Films directed by Enzo D'Alò Animated films based on children's books Films based on fantasy novels Animated films based on German novels Films about time 2000s German films Films based on works by Michael Ende