Mondo

I thought it was great when the old man was teaching Mondo to spell with letters scratched onto rocks and Mondo scooped up all the letters in his name and carried them off in his pockets. There's something about a name, isn't there? --

Mondo is based on a short story by French author J.M.G. Le Clézio. The story is the first in a collection of stories about children. In each narrative a child is in some way alienated from the dominant culture while at the same time embodying something that this culture is missing.

In Gatlif's retelling, Mondo is alienated by the busy consumer society of Nice, France: he is always hiding from city officials who try to arrest him and he feels ill-at-ease in the bustling downtown area. He makes his home among the other marginalized Niçois: the homeless, foreigners, gypsies, etc. Gatlif artfully frames the life of Mondo and his friends and makes the viewer feel sympathy for society's rejects.

Gatlif shows how Mondo changes people who let him into their lives while demonstrating the blindness of government agencies that deal with stray children.

An excellent film. Even my children love it.

I can't review Tony Gatlif's films without some bias. I was absolutely blown away by Swing. Mondo is, actually, a different world. Of hues, colours, dreams and a very powerful story. Maybe one with which I feel deeply related to.

Mondo could be an angel fallen form heaven. His relationship with Nature and all of its signs and sounds is as if he's part of a different world than any populous city. There's no way to know where he comes from. He could be a Gypsy, but he's not. He could be a homeless boy. But, alas, he's not. The story told by Gatlif here is one of redemption from this world. We pretty easily outgrow any capacity left in us to wonder, to imagine, to admire the world as it is. We, as denizens of any big and dehumanised society, become simple followers of a fate that is not devised by our own means, it is a fact of life. A mere realisation that we are in a merry-go-round that eventually will stop. In the meanwhile, we'd just cling on to it and, one day, let go.

Immersed in a world of haste and worries where a simple smile could move our lives into a deep understanding of ourselves, we choose not to. We choose to live it as it comes, no questions asked. And emptiness fill our souls, our hearts, our feelings, that are reduced to shyness, to duress or insensibility.

Mondo creates joy around him, because of his smile, his ways, his angelic power to touch souls and make them see the light. Mondo is not human. He even may not be real at all. But Mondo is here to remind us of the many missing things that make our lives, sometimes, empty, inconsistent and superficial.

Tony Gatlif is a master working with children. His Gypsy friends and actors are truthful to his otherworldliness. Mondo is the boy we all need to be reminded that growing up doesn't mean being stupid. And he's the soul to many. He reaches within and without whoever he touches with his smile.

Nice is portrayed as the soul-splitting cacophony of modern life, where Mondo always finds a way to connect with what matters for the soul. His life, a metaphor of a stray dog's, is transformed many times in front of our eyes in the life of a dog.

The execution of this film is flawless. The music is, as it always is with Gatlif's films, superb. Acting is magnificent, and Mondo is one of those roles played by non-actors that will be remembered for a long time.

By the way: someone pointed out that the nude scene of Mondo is out of place. If you watch the film and feel uncomfortable by this, you may not be normal: that is as significant as the other tens of clues Gatlif gives us to understand what he's trying to convey with the story.

A ten out of ten. Hey!, and don't miss Swing, another beautiful story.

This film is a must-see, like Gatlif's Latcho Drom. It is poetic, cinematically poetic. There are several moments that brought me to tears, out of the sheer beauty of the human emotion expressed in acting and photography. "Acting" does not sound right - you have the impression you are watching real people living out love in their actual souls.

This film is similar to "The Sixth Sense" in that what you see is not what is reality. The ending is truly enlightening and makes the entire film come together. Of course I will not reveal the ending.

Pay attention to the early scenes. However, I didn't see the necessity of the nude scene in the middle of the film, nor the Muslim correlation.

But regardless, a quality film. If purchasing, beware of the edited versions and ensure you are purchasing the uncut version.

The acting is of high quality and the character development is first-rate. We truly feel the emotional attachments of the principals and also that of the bystanders who really contribute to the story line as did the townspeople in "The Emperor's New Clothes"