filippaberry84
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Brenda
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Brooklynn
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Momo" is a German/Italian co-production and this children's film has its 30th anniversary this year. The director and also one of the writers who adapted Michael Ende's book is Johannes Schaaf. Ende himself was still very much alive when this film was made. It runs for exactly 100 minutes and stars Radost Bokel as the title character. Early on, I thought it was really just about her physically fitting the role, but in the second half of the film she also shows that she is a decent actress, even at 10 years of age. Quite disappointing to see all she is in today is that jungle reality television series with so-called "stars". Also quite a letdown compared to the magic in this film here. Reality can be harsh. Anyway, the supporting cast includes a couple known name, such as Mario Adorf, Armin Mueller-Stahl (as the main antagonist) and a very young Sylvester Groth. And a very old John Huston in one of his final performances. There are also a handful Italian actors in here, but I cannot say I am familiar with any of them, maybe Italians are.In terms of the story, I cannot talk about how will it was adapted from the novel, but honestly, I was not very much convinced. It feels like a collection of scenes that are atmospheric, but have little interesting connection to one another, especially the flying sequence near the end. Other than that, the film has good moments and bad moments. I personally think that this film is much more creepy to adults than to children probably. I'd have instantly run if I had run into one of these gray men or if I saw these talking Barbie dolls. Those were the scariest thing ever seriously. The film is very fantastic and fantasy is really the only genre where I would categorize it. Luckily for the filmmakers, they get away with some obscure references and absurd scenes because of that. Overall, it is certainly a positive feature that the movie looks definitely a lot more recent than it really is. I recommend watching it. But not with any enthusiasm.
dholliday
Note: this review is from my perspective as a grown man seeing Momo for the first time. Kids may not notice my criticisms and thus may enjoy the film regardless.I was looking forward to this as I recently watched Never-Ending Story for the first time in 20+ years...in gloriously-restored bluray. 8/10 classic stuff! I've never seen Momo before, and now having watched it I can understand how it didn't quite capture the imagination of viewers back then. Michael Ende again has some fantastic ideas, with the odd nugget of wisdom too, but Momo's protagonist, at least in the film version, offers nothing apart from pretty doe eyes and a sweet smile (which is the point, I know...but on film it's not terribly convincing).Add that to the rather tame threat from the incoherent/abstract/slapstick/baldy antagonists, a cheesy & treacly support cast (among them Leopoldo Trieste's Beppo channeling Geppetto from Pinocchio), odd jarring pacing in the first half & forgettable music and you're left thinking this is very much the poorer partner when compared with Never-Ending Story: its antagonist - The Nothing - was abstract too, but it was demonstrably stronger than those 'Two Big Strong Hands', and utilised a certain scary wolf to level-up the jeopardy factor (Not to mention the more memorable characters and engaging music).The Momo DVD I've got (EAN 4006680017280) offers awful quality: the image looks like an old VHS copy with the sound poorly mixed. The dialogue is overdubbed...badly. You can hear the studio acoustics. The sync is all over the place too, adding to the detachment. I had a quick gander online and found some lengthy clips in English...with John Huston sounding like John Huston and generally the lip-syncing looking natural (tho' Momo sounds older than the 10 years old Radost Bokel, more like a grown woman doing a twee voice).So what language is this film originally in? According to IMDb's page it is German so they just did a very poor job of the overdubbing, while the English crew evidently did a good job (with much better audio-mixing too). John Huston tho' is not German, so his original audio must be the English mix, and someone I watched it with insisted the German dub for Müller-Stahl's character wasn't his own voice, so perhaps he did it in English originally.This lazy cheap DVD release has potentially cost some key enjoyment out of the experience, as aside from my other criticisms I quite liked the concept: I appreciate it would work much better in book form, but as a follower of 'Die Strebe Nach Langsamkeit' myself, Momo's special power felt warmly familiar to me :) - and a few visual shots were very nicely done - strong plus points which earn it a solid 6/10.Saying that, even if Momo had a bluray-remaster as superb as Never-Ending Story, with ambiently-mixed & timed dialogue, it would still reveal itself as inferior to Petersen's effort, purely as a film experience. Seems Petersen was more aware of his (film) audience whereas the makers of Momo perhaps were too tied to the source material (thanks to Ende himself being more involved).Recommended only with reservations: at least make sure you're watching a good-quality release with the option for both languages (and subs where necessary).
ShiiStyle
The most positive thing I can say about this movie is that it adheres to the book very faithfully and it is not an unapologetic butchery like The Neverending Story. Apparently Michael Ende oversaw the film himself (he plays a cameo role at the beginning) and made sure it was not tinkered with. However, whether because of his lack of film experience or despite his watchful eye, this film is extremely uncreative. At its best, which is extremely rare, it's how you imagined it. At its worst, if you've already read the book, it is frankly boring to watch and may disrupt the fancies of your imagination: I never imagined Momo with an afro, myself. The special effects don't go that far beyond stage play level and certainly don't live up to Ende's mind-sparking descriptions. This movie has not been released with proper English subtitles, and it's not worth the trouble obtaining illicit versions. Read the book, think for yourself, and enjoy some other movie on the same theme.
-nu-
Beautiful images of an Italian village, a heart-warming story and great acting by Adorf, Mueller-Stahl, charming little Radost Bokel and the less known actors make this the ideal family movie. The Men in Grey, Master Hora and turtle Cassiopeia add depth to the plot, so you are free to read it as a warning of the neo-liberal episode we're in, with multinational trusts sucking the living soul out of everyone who falls for their false promises. You might even get an advice on how to overcome it -- if you want to.Had Fassbinder lived long enough and had he not been as kaputt, he might have made this movie. Had Wenders understood a thing, he might have done it. Thanks to little-known director Johannes Schaaf at least one of Michael Ende's novels, Momo, has been adequately transformed into a great movie.
