Momo (1986) - full transcript

(This is actually Michael Ende,
author of the novel “Momo”.)

Are you surprised
by what you see?

You better give me back my glasses.

I am glad that you have time.

Otherwise you would surely
travel on a faster train.

Allow me to tell you a story.

I could tell it
as if it were to happen in the future,

or in the past —
it doesn’t really matter to me.

It begins
at the edge of a big city…

Who are you?

- Who are you?
- Momo.



- What are you doing here?
- I live here.

Are you a police officer?

- Are you hungry?
- Oh yes, very much. Who are you?

Beppo Strassenkehrer (Streetsweeper).

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

- Good morning, Eliana.
- Morning, Beppo.

What are you doing here so early?

It is Sunday.

- Give me a hand here, will you?
- Yes.

- There is a Momo in the theatre.
- A what?

A Momo.

What is that?

I don’t know. A child, I think.
It says it is living there.

- A child? Alone?
- Yes. It says it is hungry.



Sell me something, will you?

Let be. I am not taking money from you, Beppo.
I will give you something nice.

- Come on. Shoot.
- Goal! Goal!

Come on, let’s go inside.
We will talk about it.

No, no. I am not talking with him anymore.
It’s just going to be trouble.

Hold that, will you.

Come here, little one.
It’s all right. Uncle Gigi is here.

As loud as your father, aren’t you?

Eliana! Eliana!

MEN AT TABLE: Gigi! Gigi! There you are.

Ok, Nicola, ok.
But I don’t have much time.

I got a new job, you know?
- All right then. Cheers.

Gigi! What am I supposed to do
with this stupid dog?

NINO: Get out of here!

Why don’t you understand
that I don’t want you here anymore?

You won’t drink one more drop in my place!

Cockroach!

No. Stop it!

Help! Help me!

HORA: You see:
People as they live in any suburb.

A bit crazy, but love-worthy.

Almost all of them have a job
that won’t make them rich,

but feeds them and leaves time
for happiness and trouble.

Gigi has no real job.

Sometimes he is a park guard,
witness at a marriage,

dog-walker,
love-letter carrier,

attendant at a funeral,
souvenir salesman,

but most of all,
he is a tourist guide.

You saw it yourself.
He demolished the whole place.

He did not.
The vase was already cracked.

Did you ask him
if he’s giving me the guitar?

Ask him yourself.

Can you even tell me
what the hell you want that guitar for?

You cannot even play.

ELIANA: And neither can you.
Come on, give it to him already.

Here you go, you big child.

So, what now? Play something.

Tomorrow, Eliana. Today it’s not in tune.
But tomorrow.

A whole bus load of tourists
is coming to the theatre tomorrow.

You can all come and hear
how nicely I play. Ow!

GIGI: Ladies and gentlemen: Here you see
the world’s only amphitheater with its own ship.

The beautiful argonauts captured old Helena with it,
and gave her as a present to king Ludwig the Second.

Come on closer, come on closer.
Hello, children!

The greatest sight, however,
is the cave of empress Strapazia Augustina.

With exciting wall paintings
of her love life.

- Please, Gigi, send them away.
- Are you crazy?

Don’t you see, that they are here for a tour?
- Send them away. You hear?

Ladies and gentlemen.

My assistant Beppo Strassenkehrer
has just informed me of the following:

Unfortunately, Empress Strapazia has collapsed!

I therefore must ask you
to regard this little tour as finished.

Will you be so kind to follow me to the till?

- Hey Beppo. Where is your Momo?
- In there.

And why is she not coming out?

She is afraid you might
send her back to the orphanage.

- Does she not have parents?
- No, she wants to stay here.

Back! Back! Back!

How old are you actually?

One hundred?

One hundred and two?

Silence. Silence, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I?

Listen. Obviously we are dealing here
with a little girl, that is afraid.

She has run away from one of these terrible orphanages
and has nobody to take care of her.

And…

…she cannot count.

I think she wants to stay here,
because she likes it here.

Now, we must see if
we will like the little girl as well.

Yeah. And if we like her:
Why should she not stay here?

CHILDREN: Yes! Yes!
She shall stay here!

So. Come on, little one.

Come on out. Don’t be afraid.

Come on. Just come.

You don’t need to be afraid of us.
Yeah, come on.

So you are Momo.

- Hey, you bum. Come on down and help a bit.
- But I am working. Can’t you hear it?

BEPPO: Today I have been sweeping
at the old city wall again.

There are five stones
of a different color in the wall.

Like a T.
You understand what I mean?

You know, Momo.
Those were completely different times then,

when the wall was built.

Many people have worked there.

But there were two,
who put these stones in the wall.

And that was the two of us. You and me.

We looked very different then, very different.

But it was us.
I recognized us.

That was a sign.

Yeah, yeah. All right.

Your cave is slowly becoming a real dwelling.

The stove is almost finished.

Just the pipe into the wall,
and you can start cooking.

Cheers… cockroach…

I can’t look at that stove.

Look how it’s all sloped and crooked.
I bet all her pots will fall down.

I heard his grandfather helped
build the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Are you starting again?
Come here. Crook.

Eliana, tell him that
I won’t talk to him anymore.

You think you can get away with anything
just because you are stronger.

He wanted to kill me, you know?

- Why?
- I have no idea.

I don’t know. No idea.

If he goes on like that,
I might really kill him one day.

Can you believe it?

I always paid, but he won’t let me
drink in his bar anymore.

- Why?
- No idea why.

No idea.

ETTORE: Here. I have a gift for you.

It shall bring you luck
when you have lost something.

And in general.

That is why!

I gave him my radio for that.

But only because you knew
that there was a banknote behind it.

Did you really believe I would give you
my beautiful radio for such a cheap print?

But how did you know
about the money when I did not?

I saw a customer putting it there
as an offering.

Was it much?

As much as my radio was worth.

So our whole argument is only
about a cheap print of the holy Antonius?

Actually…yes.

Thank you, uncle Ettore.

And why does uncle Ettore have it now?

Because he threw it away.

He took out the money
and simply threw it away.

To throw away the holy Antonius.
These young people.

No respect for anything or anybody.

NINO: All right, all right.
NICOLA: Forgiven and forgotten.

Do you like the melody?

Now I am only missing the words.

HORA: From now on everything was fine
for little Momo.

She had food to eat,
she had a place to stay.

And what was most important:
She had many good friends.

But the villagers were soon to realize
that they had also been very lucky.

For they needed Momo.

And so it was
that she always had many visitors.

Here.

Try it, Beppo.

Are they good yet?
- Mmmm.

What is that?

For you.
I found it. In the garbage.

Read.

How?

You must learn to read.
And to write.

That is difficult.

See, Momo…

There are so many words.

It is like this:

Sometimes you have to sweep

a very long street ahead of you.

You think, it is so terribly long.

You can never make it.

Yes, you think that.

And you begin to hurry.
And you hurry and you hurry.

And still the street
is not getting any shorter.

It is still as long as before.

And you work harder
and harder.

You get discouraged.

And in the end,

you are totally out of breath
and cannot go on anymore.

You should never think about
the whole street at once, you understand?

Not the whole street.

You should always think
just about the next step.

Breath…

and step…

and sweep.

Breath, and step, and sweep.

That makes it pleasant.

That is important.

This way you are
doing your job well.

And that is how it should be, isn’t it?

And suddenly you realize
that you have done the whole street.

Step by step, that is.

And you didn’t even notice!

And you are not out of breath.

That is important.

F - O - R

M - O - M - O

For Momo.

Yes, yes. I hear it.
I am not deaf, after all.

Shall I bring it upstairs?
I think, the soup is ok, Mr. Fusi.

No, I’ll do it myself. As you know,

She does not like strangers.

- You can go get a flower.
- What color?

What color did we have yesterday?

Red, like love.

Then you get a white one today.

HORA: Those who needed Momo
but hadn’t realized it yet,

they were told by the rest:
“Go see Momo.”

And those who needed her
but could not go to her, asked her to visit.

He won’t sing.
He does not sing anymore.

What?

That is wonderful!

He has not sung for six months!

And you just look at him
and he starts singing immediately.

I think…

I think you must listen to him,
even when he is not singing.

So what is going on?
Is she coming?

- No.
- But a storm is coming!

I am going home,
I’m scared.

Come on.
Let’s just play without Momo.

What, then?

I don’t know.
Just something.

- We’ll play sailing.
- No, no. Not again.

Yes. We’ll play an exploration journey.
I am the famous professor and explorer.

No. I am the professor.

- Stop with the drumming! That is my tub, get down!
- Why?

Because I need it.

All aboard!

- Where is the board?
- Doesn’t matter. Anywhere.

Where is Momo?

Momo! Momo!

- Yeah. Come on.
- All aboard. All aboard.

Alarm! Alarm!
Typhoon on the horizon!

- Full power ahead.
- Drop sails.

Women and children below deck.

Be prepared for the worst, men.

Radar-specialists, enter the mast.

Prepare contra-fiction-cannon for firing!

It is a schum-schum gummilasticum.

I have been waiting twenty years
to see one of these rare animals in my telescope.

Contra-fiction-cannon ready for firing.

It’s disgusting that you simply want to shoot
the last schum-schum gummilasticum!

Man, we are in great danger!

But this one must be
over one billion years old.

Today it is only found as
microscopically small traces in tomato sauce.

And sometimes very rarely in green ink.

Don’t you people give a damn
about your lives?

Fire!

We are sinking.
We are sinking.

Everybody: To the lifeboats!

Save yourselves, if you can.

We are doomed.
The thing is coming straight towards us.

Only men in the lifeboat.
How typical.

Don’t you have any advice
for us, professor?

We can only ask
the beautiful native Momosan.

There she comes.

(MOMO SPEAKING IN MADE-UP LANGUAGE)

(CHILD SPEAKING IN MADE-UP LANGUAGE)

(MOMO SPEAKING IN MADE-UP LANGUAGE)

What is she saying?

She says her people have an ancient song
that will put the wandering typhoon asleep.

If anyone has the courage to sing it.

What a nonsense.
A lullaby for a typhoon.

You shouldn’t be prejudiced.

I totally agree. Let her sing.
It can’t do any damage, can it?

(CHILD SPEAKING IN MADE-UP LANGUAGE)

(MOMO AND CHILDREN SING
IN MADE-UP LANGUAGE)

Are you going to play our song?

For the rest of time,

I want to be at your side,

Like the moon above,

And the earth below.

Do you hear the silence?

Do you hear the stars?

Singing from afar:

I love you.

HORA: None of them could foresee
that soon a shadow was to fall on their friendship.

A shadow that would grow and grow

and was already unfurling
dark and cold over the big city.

It was like a silent
and imperceptible conquest

that made progress every day
and that nobody resisted,

because nobody really took notice of it.

And the conquerors?
Who were they?

Hot.

Good day.

I feel suddenly terribly cold.

Put your pot down, Mr. Fusi.
Don’t worry about your old deaf mother.

You must know:
Time is money, Mr. Fusi.

May I ask you
to take a seat, Mr. Fusi.

Thank you.

We took notice, that you are wasting your time
in an entirely irresponsible way.

I will prove that to you
with a simple small calculation.

- One minute has…
- Excuse me please. I suddenly feel terribly cold.

...60 seconds.

One hour has 60 minutes. Do you follow?

60 times 60 equals 3,600.

One day has 24 hours.
365 days in a year.

This results in a total of

31,536,000 seconds per year.

- How old are you, Mr. Fusi?
- 42.

42… 42…

- Terribly cold.
- That equals a life-time of

1,324,512,000 seconds.

That is good.
An impressing number, don’t you think?

Well. How long do you sleep
on the average per night, Mr. Fusi?

About eight hours.

That is 441,504,000 seconds

that we ought to regard as lost.

How much time must you dedicate
to your work per day, Mr. Fusi?

About eight hours as well.

So we can once again add
the same sum to the negative account.

And how much time
do you need for your meals?

Two hours.

Over 42 years, that results in
110,376,000 seconds exactly.

You live alone with your old mother.

We know that you sacrifice one full hour
every day to the old woman.

You sit with her, you talk with her,

although she is nearly deaf
and can hear almost nothing.

That makes 55,188,000 seconds.

Once a week you go to the cinema.
You are member in a choral society.

Twice a week you visit a bar.

And on the remaining evenings,
you meet with friends.

Sometimes you even take the time
to read a book.

You are killing your time
with useless things, Mr. Fusi.

And this is results in a sum of… of…

165,564,000 seconds.

Are you not feeling well, Mr. Fusi?

Don’t be afraid. We are almost done.

But before that, we must discuss
a special part of your life.

Isn’t that true, Mr. Fusi?

There exists a little secret.

You know about that, too?

I had thought…
besides me…and Miss Daria…

- Are you planning to marry Miss Daria?
- No.

That is not possible.

And yet you still visit her
every day for half an hour.

And just to bring her a flower. But why?

But it always makes her so happy.

Seen unemotionally,
that is lost time for you, Mr. Fusi.

And that altogether happens to result
in the considerable sum of…

…Miss Daria…

27,594,000 seconds.

And if we now add your habit of sitting
at the window for half an hour every day

before you go to sleep
to think about the day,

then we now come to a negative sum of

27,594,000 seconds.

And that results in…

1,324,512,000 seconds.

To be precise.

So, my dear Fusi,

that is the balance of your 42 years.

Zero comma zero.

Alarming.

As you see, you have
already spent your entire life-time.

Would it not be better,
if you could begin to save?

Yes, I would like to.
What do I need to do?

Surely you know
how to save time, my dear.

And the time that I am going to save—
do I need to deposit it somewhere?

And if so, where? Which bank?

Don’t worry about that.

That you can leave entirely to us.

You can be sure that we won’t lose

the tiniest little bit of your saved time.

Here.

This one is beautiful, isn’t it?

Mr. Fusi? What is it?
You look very pale.

Are you not feeling well?

What…what is going on?

Why do I have this?

What is going on?
Was anybody here?

No, nobody.
I didn’t see anybody.

Where were you for so long?

Hop, hop, hop! Time is money!

We don’t have any time to waste!

Keep that in mind once and for all:
Time is money. You understand?

They didn’t have any yellow flower in the shop.
So I went out searching for one.

- You wanted to have a yellow one today, didn’t you?
- Throw it away.

- Throw it away. - Why?
- Throw it away!

- And bring the soup upstairs.

Take the soup upstairs now!
Get out of my sight.

- Why me?
- Get out already! And be quick.

Hurry! Hurry!
Time is money.

Do you understand?

That is what it is all about.

Time is money.

HORA: Fusi was not the only one to become acquainted
with these strange grey men.

They wandered around the big city
in ever-growing numbers

always appearing to be very busy.

They had plans for
the time the people saved.

Elaborate and long term plans.

- There is nobody inside.
- That is not of your business.

For you my bar is all occupied.
You just drive away my customers.

And I cannot pay the rent with that one glass
of cheap red wine that you drink.

Go on, go on, get out!

GIGI: If it was only Fusi, I would just think
the man has gone a bit crazy.

But Nino has started
acting the same way.

It’s happening more and more
every day.

I am asking myself
if there is something like…

Contagious madness.

Sure.

It must be something like an epidemic.

They are being devoured
by the time they don’t have.

Oh, that is bad.

But then we need to help
our friends, don’t we?

You know, Momo…

Be quiet!

- Ah, leave me alone.
- Bloody drunkard.

I have wanted to visit you,

but I don’t have time anymore
for such private business.

Every day, we build a new story above the rest.
It is all very organized.

Soul-silos.

I am an honest mason.

Always have been.
An honest mason.

Have always been proud of my work.

But now: Much too much sand in the mortar.

That will last four or five years.
Then it will all break down.

Just needs one to cough…

But well. What shall I do?

I get my money.

But as soon as I have enough,
I will stop with that crap.

Going to do something different
with my life.

All right.

I will come tomorrow.
And then I will tell you everything.

Or the day after tomorrow.

Yes, I will do that.
Sure. Believe me.

I promise.

I swear.

The child has visited me.
And I have been talking

and talking like a waterfall.

All the work, the hustling,
earning money.

It was like a big knot in my breast.

But this child…

just sitting there, looking at me and listening…
and suddenly it loosened.

The knot.

Disappeared.

Strange.

I knew I had to visit you
more often again.

Don’t you agree?

Are you dying your hair?

Nino, we are coming!

- Here we are again.
- NINO: Yeah, yeah!

This round is on the house!

HORA: And in this way Momo got her old friends back,
one by one.

But by doing so, she got in the way
of the grey men.

And that, they could not tolerate.

So they needed to take action.

Hello?

Hello. I am Bibi-girl, the perfect doll.

- Good day.
- Hello. I am Bibi-girl, the perfect doll.

Hello, my name is Momo.

I am yours.
Everybody will envy you.

I want more things.

I am Bibi-girl, the perfect doll.

Here.

You may have whatever you like.

I am yours.
Everybody will envy you.

I want more things.

I rather think
somebody forgot you here.

I - want - more - things.

Listen.

This isn’t a good way to play.

You are just saying
the same thing over and over.

No. You are certainly not mine.

Hello. I am Bibi-girl, the perfect doll.

And I don’t want you at all.

Please forgive me.

What a nice doll you have.

But you don’t seem to be
very happy to have her.

Can I show you how to play
with such a fabulous doll, my dear?

I - want - more - things.

You see?
She even tells you herself.

You need to give her something,
you understand?

If you want to have a nice playmate.

First of all,
she needs a lot of clothes.

Here we have, for example…

a delightful evening dress.

A beautiful necklace

and a funny morning robe.

A lined ski dress,
a tennis dress,

A bathing costume,
a silk night dress.

Well. That should be enough
for the beginning.

With that you should be able
to play for a while.

But maybe you will soon
be bored by that as well.

So just in case, I brought
some more toys for your doll.

An iron, a telephone, a TV,
a purse, a camera, and here:

This wonderful guitar.

It plays all by itself,
just press the button.

But now I have
a very special surprise for you.

Because here we have
a proper companion for Bibi-girl.

His name is Bubi-boy.

And he has a lot of
clothes and toys as well.

And if even all of that becomes boring,
why then we have many, many friends for Bibi-girl.

There is Rosie-girl and Cosy-girl,
Susie-girl and Cutie-girl,

And Hippie-girl and Happy-girl,
Heartie-girl and Painie-girl,

Sugar-girl and Candy-girl,
Honey-Girl and Sunny-Girl,

Baby-girl and Lady-girl,
Huggie-girl and Squeezie-girl,

Sweetie-girl and Girly-girl,
Fondy-girl and Lovely-girl.

We have bracelets and earrings
and little doll revolvers.

Silk stockings and feather hats,
sunglasses and combs,

little checkbooks, bath salts, body lotion….

Well. Now do you see how much fun
you can have with these fabulous dolls?

Yes, sure….

I expect, that you won’t need
your old friends anymore at all.

Because all these dolls sitting around you
want to become your new friends!

And I’m sure you want
to become their friend as well.

Isn’t that right?
You want that, don’t you?

A little?

You want that, don’t you?

Would you please explain to me what it is
that these perfect dolls are lacking?

I think…you can’t love them.

That is not the point.

But I do love my old friends.

And what do they get out of it?

You make them waste their lives!
You are like a millstone around their necks.

You are actually their enemy.
And you call that love?

We…we…are your real friends.

“We” who?

We, from the Time Bank.
And we won’t let anybody get in our way.

You don’t have the tiniest idea.
You cannot resist us.

Don’t try at all. You…

...have no chance.

Is there nobody that loves you?

What are you doing?

Stop it.

No.

You are not allowed to ask that.

If there were more people like you,
we would have to close our Time Bank.

Nobody is allowed to know
who we are and what we do.

We must remain unrecognized.
Nobody is allowed to remember us.

We must snatch the time
from the humans carefully.

Drawing from them… secondwise…

Minutes, seconds, hours.
Life-times.

All the time that they “save”
is lost to them.

Because we consume it.

Feed on it, suck you out to the bones.

Suck you dry, take it, gather it.

We hunger for it, starve without it.

For your life.

Your life-time, your entire life-time,
we suck it out of you.

And there are more and more of us.

More to suck it out, take it for ourselves.

All of us: hundreds, millions,

Sucking and sucking and sucking…

What was that?

You bewitched me.

Our secret.
I told you our secret.

I was just talking nonsense
my dear child.

Forget it, please forget it.
You must forget it.

You must, you must…

You must! You must!

He was afraid of me.

But I was also afraid of him.

And in some way
I also feel sorry for him.

I don’t know, why.

Come on, Momo.
You don’t need to feel sorry for him.

You are not allowed
to feel sorry for him.

He was afraid of you
because you recognized him.

We have just to make sure
that everyone else knows.

This way we will defang them
and they can bring no more harm to us.

Because we will keep them
in our memory and recognize them.

And that will help?

Of course.
That is why he ran away from you.

They are afraid of us.

But if you are right,
will we be able to find them?

Maybe they are hiding from us.

Then we will make
them leave their hideout.

CHILDREN SINGING: People, listen to us sing:
Why don’t you have any time any more?

The children will tell you.
All you adults have no idea what is going on.

Come on, you people. Come on, you people.
All the children are calling you.

Do you hear, you people? Do you hear, you people?
You don’t understand yet.

People, listen up:
The thieves are already among us.

Soon you will all recognize
that there is nothing left but a grey mist.

Come on, you people. Come on, you people.
Don’t you see, who is ruling your world?

Do you hear, you people? Do you hear, you people?
You don’t understand yet.

Come to the theatre on Sunday,
and everything will be revealed.

Because the children can tell you
who is really behind all this.

Come on you people. Listen up, you people.
Come on, you people. Come on, you people.

Your time is being stolen,
by the grey men.

Come on you people. Listen up, you people.
Come on, you people. Come on, you people.

We know what to do
and we will tell you.

We know what to do
and we will tell you.

- Bye, Momo.
- Good-bye, Momo.

- What a pity.
- Nobody showed up at all.

- You really cannot rely on grown-ups.

I never trusted them, but now
I don’t like them anymore at all.

Come on, Momo.
Don’t be sad.

We just come up
with something new.

A new game, ok?

That was no game.

Yeah, ok, you are right.

But I have to go now.
We’ll talk tomorrow, yes?

Got a new job.
Night watch at the car dump.

Are you leaving too?

I have to.

But why?
It is Sunday.

It’s an exception, they said.

I would be happier
if you would stay here today.

Me too.
But I must.

It’s an exception, they said.

Good-bye.
See you tomorrow.

All right, that’s it for today!
Midnight! Let’s go home.

Hey Beppo. What’s up?
Aren’t you coming with us?

I need to rest a bit.
Just a second.

- Just go ahead.
- If you say so. All right then.

The Supreme Court calls agent BLW-553-x.
Please step forward.

You are agent BLW-553-x?

Yes, Supreme Court.

For how long have you existed?

Exactly 11 years, 3 months, 6 days, 8 hours,
33 minutes, and by cigar’s length…

18 seconds, precisely.

Are you aware of the fact that there are
a great number of children in this town,

who today walked the streets
with posters and boards,

inviting the entire town to a meeting
at which to reveal our existence?

I am aware of the fact,
Supreme Court.

How do you explain the fact
that these children

know precisely who we are
and what we are planning?

I cannot explain that.

Why are you lying?

Um…it is…um…

professional habit,
Supreme Court.

You don’t deny that you told a child
the truth about us, do you?

I had only the best intentions for the Time Bank in mind.

We are only interested in the result.

Whatever you had in mind doesn’t matter.

You have betrayed us.

You have betrayed us.
You have told this child

some of our most important secrets.

Children are our natural enemies.
If it was not for them,

the human race would already
be entirely in our control.

We need every hour, minute, second!

Of the whole of human kind!

Our aim is…is…

World domination.

Do you plead guilty?

Yes, Supreme Court.

But believe me.
I cannot explain…

how that…could possibly happen.

And so I ask the Supreme Court

to acknowledge the mitigating circumstance
that I was indeed…bewitched.

You are not facing a human court here,
but our own kind.

But I do agree that we will
have to deal with this strange child.

What was the name?

Momo.

Mo-

-mo.

Girl or boy?

A girl.

Address?

Amphitheater.

That is good.

Very good.

You can rest assured, defendant,
that this child won’t do harm to us again.

That might comfort you, as we now
immediately pass sentence.

- Guilty.
- Guilty.

The unanimous sentence in the case
of agent BLW-553-x is high treason.

As our law demands, you are
immediately to be deprived of any time.

Please: Mercy.

Compassion?

Pity.

Pity! Mercy! Pity!

Pity! Pity!

Pity….

Oh! Where did you come from?

What do you want from me?

“Come with me”

Come with me.

Whom are you talking to?

Me?

“Come with me”

I think, she really is talking with me.

Oh my god. My god.

I came too late.

They already took her.

What shall I do?
What shall I do now?

Utmost urgency.
Searching for a little girl.

Age ten to twelve years.
Fuzzy dark hair. Brown eyes.

Wearing oversized men’s jacket.
Colored patchwork skirt.

Resident of section RO-2.

Utmost urgency.
Searching for a little girl.

Age ten to twelve years.
Fuzzy dark hair. Brown eyes.

- RU-5 negative.
- RO-3 negative.

- Out of the way!
- Everybody out of the way now!

Where are we actually going?

- “Quiet”
- Quiet.

Isn’t it great that I
can read that well already?

“Quiet”

She is gone! Believe me!
They have kidnapped her!

Gone! Gone!
Why don’t you believe me?

Look! My finger is burnt.
I burnt my finger.

Look. Just look!
Why don’t you believe me?

With the match.

- Beppo…
- The grey men are real. We must do something. Now!

They have found her! They will kill her!
Why are you laughing?

Beppo, stop it!

Maybe she just went for a walk.

She does that all the time.
You don’t need to get so excited.

And the cars?

The cars. A lot of grey cars.

And the mattress was all turned over.
I am going to see the police.

They will bring her back to the orphanage.

Children that roam about
end up there.

No, no, Beppo.
I wouldn’t want to be in your place

when the police come tomorrow
to bring Momo to the orphanage.

And she looks at you for the last time.

The last time.

Shall I tell you something?
Tomorrow morning everything will look different.

And we will laugh
about all this nonsense.

You, me, and Momo.
All three of us.

Beppo!

Beppo!

Beppo, stay here!

Beppo!

But you must believe me, inspector, sir.
I saw them myself. Out there on the dump.

One, they made disappear into thin air.

And now they want to do the same to Momo.

All right then.
Would you please breath on me?

Why, please?

Come on, man. Don’t ask.
Breath on me.

Well, you are not drunk.

No, never have been.
Why should I get drunk?

Why would you say that?

Do you think the police are stupid enough
to believe in such fairy tales?

Yes.

Oh, I am sorry.

Sorry. You didn’t understand what I meant.

I don’t care what you meant.
I am not interested.

This old man is crazy.

We need to find out
if he is a threat to the public.

Discharged.

Thank you, sir.

ZY positive, ZY positive.

Concentration on sections ZY-1, 2, 3, 4…

- Z… 1… 2… Z…
- ZZ-3 positive!

- ZZ-3 positive!
- Sighting of target object.

ZZ-3 positive.

ZY positive… ZY positive…
Concentration on section ZY…

There she is! Go faster!

But we are already going
as fast as we can!

It looks like
we are not driving at all.

It is like driving
against a cotton wool wall.

Driving me mad!

Y-1, 2…

“Never-alley”

Turtle, turtle!
Wait for me!

Help me, turtle!

I cannot make it.

“Go backwards”

Wonderful. It’s working.

It’s working.
It’s really working.

The girl Momo has left the sphere of time.

What a nonsense.
No human can do that.

- But is a fact.
- He is right. Would you please notice…

- Please, gentlemen, understand…
- You all know who I am talking about.

We are talking about
the so-called “Master Hora”.

“The Nowhere-house”

Welcome to the Nowhere-house.

Allow me to introduce myself:
I am Master Hora.

Secundus Minutius Hora.

Good day.
I am Momo.

I know. I have been expecting you.
You have come unusually on time.

Just come with me.

Oh, wait. I want to take
one more look at the situation.

Ah. They are talking about you.
They cannot understand, that you escaped them.

Who?

Here you go.
Have a look.

Have a look with my
omni-sight-glasses.

I don’t perceive anything.
It’s all swirly.

The grey men.
Do you know them?

I know them,
and they know me.

Do they want to hurt me?

You can say that.

But don’t worry.
You are safe here.

Back in town, they could have
caught me very easily.

What do you think, Kassiopeia?
Could they have caught you?

- “Never”

- You must know:
Kassiopeia can see a bit into the future.

Half an hour, precisely.
Therefore she knows, if she will run into them.

Oh. That comes in handy.

- Why are their faces actually that grey?
- Because they survive off of death.

They exist by stealing
the entire life-time of human kind.

Oh. I will not allow my time
to be stolen. By nobody.

Fear…

... is a bad advisor, gentlemen.

One thing is sure.

This child knows the way
to the “so-called”.

She could lead us to what

we have been searching for,
for so long without success.

And then…

... gentlemen…

we will have reached our goal.

And if she refuses?

- She is incorruptable.
- And unfortunately missing.

Yes.

For sure, the “so-called” will send her
back to us as a deadly danger.

But this child has one weak spot:

She loves her friends.

So we have to keep her friends
away from her, by all means.

And I bet a thousand years
against a tenth of a second,

that she will not resist,
but will show us what we are looking for.

Anything —

just to get back her friends.

Gigi. Gigi. Gigi.

When you see Momo, please tell her,
that I didn’t come for so long,

because they put us all
in the children-depot.

I ran away, but
they always catch you again.

I have to go back.

Please stay.

I will be quiet. I will sit down in a corner,
be quiet, and listen to you.

One doesn’t hear
such a wonderful voice every day.

A rarity. I know what I am talking about.

Here, please, my card.

I am working with a big concert agency.

So, ladies and gentlemen,
now we are going to sleep.

- Already? Again?
- But I don’t want to sleep.

- Lights off.
- But I must search for Momo.

I must find Momo!

I have been authorized
to make you an offer.

Your little friend is in our hand.

We will give the child
back to you under the condition,

that you will never again
say a word about us and our activities.

Furthermore are we demanding a ransom
of 100,000 hours of your saved time.

If you agree, we can arrange
for you to be released.

If not, you will stay here forever.
And Momo will stay with us.

We will make this generous offer only once.

- So?
- I agree.

And please bear in mind:
Absolute silence, and a hundred-thousand hours.

When we have got those…

you will get back your little Momo.

Say: What is time, actually?

I mean: Time itself.
It must be something.

Is it like some kind of music,
that one just doesn’t hear,

because it is always there?

Actually…

sometimes…

I have heard it, I guess.

Inside of me. Right here.
Very silent.

I know.

That is why I could call you
to visit me.

I will tell you a secret now:

From here, from the Nowhere-house
in the Never-alley,

comes the entire life-time
of all humans.

Oh!

You make it yourself?

No, no, child.
I am only the steward.

My duty is to assign every human
the life-time that is dedicated to him.

Are you…

death?

If people understood what death is
they would not be afraid of it anymore.

And if they were not afraid,
nobody could steal their life-time anymore.

Then you just need to tell them!

I am telling them.

With every hour
that I assign to them.

But I fear,

they prefer to believe those
who make them afraid.

I am not afraid.
Of anything.

Would you like to see
where time comes from?

Yes.

Fine then!
I will take you there.

But there, you must be silent.

You are not allowed to speak
or ask questions. Not a word.

Ssshh.

Do you promise?

Master Hora?

That was certainly the music,
that I had heard sometimes before.

Was that the time of all people?

No, that was only your own time.

And your melody.

But where have I been, Master Hora?

In your own heart.

Master Hora?

Am I allowed to bring my friends
to you as well?

Not just yet.

You must wait
for one entire circle of the sun.

One entire year waiting.

Like a seed, that is sleeping in the earth
before it sprouts.

Will you do that?

Yes.

Then sleep.

Sleep.

And one,

…two, three, four,

…and one,

…two, three, four,

- One, two,
- Turn, please.

…three, four, and one, two, three, four.

- And watch your arms.
- And one, two,

…three, four, and one…
- Ok?

…two, three, four, and one,

…two, three, four
- Take the shoulders in a bit.

And one, two, three, four, and one, two…

Let’s go! Take your positions.

Isn’t that a fantastic surprise?
Isn’t that fabulous?

- I bet, you didn’t expect that.
- (Singing) We sweet Momos

Have been so sad

Now we are with all our hearts…

Get out of here! At once!

Get out! All of you! Out!

Nonsense.

This whole show is stupid nonsense!

Such rubbish.

These dollies have nothing whatsoever
to do with my life.

Cancel the show.

But the broadcast is all set.

- You can’t just…
- I said: Cancel it!

And what do you want to tell the press?

All right.

I will do this damn show.

But then I will tell the people,
what is going on.

What is going on with Momo.

The whole world will hear
that she has disappeared.

And now get out of here! Out!

Out! Get out already!

You too! Out, all of you!

I don’t want to see you anymore!

Get out!

What you are planning to do
does not please us.

Be good and let it be! Yes?

Until now, you have not had the pleasure
of meeting us in person.

But we’ve owned you
for quite some time already.

From head to toe.

(Laughing) Just say you didn’t mean it.

Let it be. We mean it.

I won’t let it be.

I won’t take anymore orders.

I am not the little…

unknown, tourist-guide Gigi anymore.

I am Girolamo, the big TV star!

You are a blow up doll.

We inflated you.
And if you make trouble,

we will let the air out of you.

Or do you seriously believe
that your petty talent

got you where you are now?

Poor little Gigi.

You will always be a dreamer.

In the past, you were prince Girolamo
behind the mask of the poor dog Gigi.

And what are you now?

The poor dog Gigi
behind the mask of prince Girolamo.

What have you done with Momo?

Don’t rack your brains about that.
You cannot help her.

And not in the least
by telling stories about us.

But we won’t detain you
from playing hero.

If you want to ruin yourself…

Please.

Isn’t it much more pleasant

to be rich…and famous?

Oh yes, it is.

Yes.

I am back!

Sun!

Clouds!

Life!

Beppo!

Gigi!

Gigi?

Beppo! Gigi! Children!

“All gone”

All gone?

How long have I been away?

- “A year and a day”
- A year and a day.

Nino. Nino!

- Hey you! To the back of the line!
- What is she doing?

Hey! No jumping the queue!

Momo. You are back? What a surprise.

Why is she not in the children-depot?

- Here. Take something to eat.
- Where is Gigi? Nino, please…

- Get out!
- You see, how it is here. Sorry.

- Time is money!
- Yes, sorry.

Where is Gigi? Tell me, Nino.

He is living on Green Hill.
In a big mansion.

He is rich.
And famous as well.

I am sorry.

- I am sorry.
- And where is Beppo?

In the nuthouse. I think.

Just go to the back of the line.

- What is going on here?
- Time is money.

“Wait”

Nino said “Green Hill”.

But can you see
anything green around here?

I can’t.

Oh….

Ow!

What are you waiting for?

Come quickly!

We are late already.

Gigi?

- Momo!

- Gigi!
- You look just the same! Momo! Momo!

Where have you been all that time?
More than a year.

Have you been at Nino’s?
Have you eaten something?

And our good old Beppo?

Watch your costume.
Let this bundle of dirt go, will you.

I have not seen him for so long…

Ah, Momo, the most
dangerous thing in life…

is dreams that come true.

Can you believe it? I am giving big concerts.
And not just here in town.

Ah. So this ‘Momo’ is real?
I always thought she was one of your creations.

- Just take her with you on stage. Take her.
- Let go of her!

I don’t want this pack
to get hold on you, too.

Come, get in.

Drive her to Green Hill.
And take care that…

I am so glad that you are here again!

Maybe I can do real songs again now.
As in the old times!

Gigi, please.

What’s this? How did you get here?

What shall I do with you now?

Come on.

Come with me.

You will starve to death here.

So…

I am sure we will find
something green for you.

Stop. Please stop. Right now.

Stop! Stop! Please stop!

Hey! What are you doing? You!

Kasseiopeia!

Kasseiopeia!

I have been looking for you everywhere.
Are you coming to me in the afternoon?

Or tomorrow?
Or the day after tomorrow?

- Ah, Paolo, I have so much to tell…
- We are not allowed to talk here, Momo.

You know,
it was much nicer in your place.

- Then just run away.
- They always catch you again.

Ciao, Momo.

Take me with you then!
I am always alone now!

Pointless. Don’t try at all.

It is not in our interest
for you to go in there.

Why?

Because we want you
to do us a little favor.

If you are reasonable,
you can get a great deal

for you and your friends.

Do you want that?

Yes.

Then we will meet tonight at midnight.

Where?

But where?

Here I am!

Hello!

I am here!

You are alone, poor child.

Your friends are out of reach for you.

There is nobody left
with whom you can spend time with.

The moment will come,
when you cannot take it anymore.

Tomorrow. In one week. In one year…

- It doesn’t matter to us.
- We will just wait.

- Are you missing your friends?
- Would you like to free them?

- Are you missing your friends?
- Are you missing your friends?

- Would you like to free them?
-… your friends…

-… free them…
-… your friends…

- We would like to become acquainted
with this Master Hora.

Unfortunately we do not
know where he lives.

- You will get back your friends for this.
- You could live your happy old life again.

What are you planning?
What do you want from Master Hora?

Why do you worry about him?
Don’t think too much.

Just lead us to him.

And if…

And if I could - I wouldn’t do it.

What does that mean: If you could?

You can.

- You have visited Master Hora.
- You know the way.

Let her be. If she won’t listen,
she must learn from her mistakes…

“Don’t be afraid”

Kassiopeia.
I am so glad, you are back.

What shall we do now?

“To Hora”

Ah, that is how it works.
Slowly…

As slow as the girl.

The slower we go,
the faster we move.

Now backwards. Exactly like her.

Yes, yes. It is all right.

You don’t need to be afraid.

With me, you are safe.

But the grey men followed me.

But you have seen yourself,
that they just disappear into the thin air

when they enter the Never-alley.

Yes. But how?

You know: Around the Nowhere-house,
time moves backwards.

And because the grey men
are made of stolen time,

the time runs out of them
as soon as they enter the time-suction.

Yes, and me?

You just became younger.

But not much.

Couldn’t we just move
all time backwards then?

Only a little, I mean.

So all people would
become a bit younger.

But the time-thieves would
disappear into the thin air,

and we would get rid
of them all together.

Yes.

That could be an idea.

Let me think.

Oh.

Out there, it is all full of ugly smoke.

Like a wall. A wall of smoke.

You remember the hour-flowers.

The grey men steal them
from the hearts of the people.

And freeze them with the cold
that they radiate themselves.

They dry the flower petals
and roll their cigars with them.

They smoke them, and consume
the life that is left in the leaves.

This way, they poison every hour,
that I send out.

They are blackmailing me.

- The ring is closed.
- He is caught in the trap.

Fumigate him!

Time will stand still.

If you do not succeed,
then I will never wake again.

Never again.

The whole world will go still.

And stiff.

Into eternity.

Will I see you again?

Take Kassiopeia with you.

She will help you.

Is she also taking an hour-flower?

She doesn’t need one.

She carries her own
bit of time within herself.

But don’t forget:

You only have one hour-flower.

Only one hour of time.

Hey. Something is wrong, gentlemen.

Look at the clocks.

They are all stopped!
They are not working anymore.

Even the hourglass is standing still.

- So he stopped them, so what?
- You cannot stop an hourglass.

Our cars are standing still!
Everything is standing still!

The whole world standing still!
Hora switched off the time!

But what will become of us then?

When our cigar stock is emptied?

Catastrophe! We must return to our stock!

- I need more time!
- How many cigars do you have left?

- Leave me alone!
- Hands off my briefcase!

Beppo!

Beppo, I have been looking for you!

Everywhere!

Oh, Beppo. My dear Beppo.

What’s wrong with you?

My dear Beppo.

Oh my god, they are gone.

What do you mean, Nicola?

Ah! Thank you, Nicola, thank you!

One, two, three,

four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine,

ten, eleven, twelve.

I ask the gentlemen
with even numbers to stand up.

You are asked
to resolve…immediately.

Please move up, gentlemen.

- Six is an ugly number.
- Enough now.

It is not reasonable to reduce
our number any further,

“Close the door”
- If the six of us cannot outlast the catastrophe,

then three won’t do any better

- He is right.
- I am not sure…

But how? I can’t move!

-”With the flower”
-In the meantime, we must remain calm, gentlemen.

He is right. We must work out
a plan how to handle the situation.

I am sure one of us
will survive, gentlemen.

But we must handle the stock cautiously.
We don’t know for how long it will need to last.

So we must restrict ourselves.

The earlier we begin to save,
the longer we will endure.

And you know, gentlemen,
what I mean by “saving”.

How lucky, that the doors to the vault
were open when the catastrophe began.

If they had been closed at that moment,

no power in the world could have opened them!

We would be lost!

Unfortunately, you are not
entirely correct, my friend.

With the doors opened, the cold is leaking out,
and the hour-flowers will slowly defrost.

And this is for sure: If that happens, we can’t
keep them from returning to their origin.

You mean, that our own cold
will not be sufficient to keep the stock frozen?

Unfortunately, you have
reduced our number to six.

It seems to me, that was a bit rash.

- But this is the…
- This is Momo!

- Why can she move?
- She has an hour-flower!

- Where did she get it?
- We must take it from her!

The flower can save us.

Hour-flower.

- Catch her!
- Cut off her escape route!

- Follow her!

Kassiopeia! Help me!

Give me the hour-flower.

- Catch her!
- Give me the hour-flower!

The flower…

belongs to me.

It is mine.

My flower!

Please, my dear child.

Give me the flower.

Please.

Give… give me…

give me the… flower.

But where is…

where is…

the cigar!

It is…

good.

It is…

all…

finished.

“Fly home Momo”

Oh, good.

Good.

Ah, there you are.

Did you catch a cold
from these terrible grey men?

You must tell me everything.
We have time, don’t we.

I have missed so much.

But it will be best
if you rest a bit.

Original fansub: hagbard
Editing and retiming: djwudi