Mondo (1997)

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  (389 ratings)

A boy with no family tries to recruit one in this charming light drama. A ten-year-old gypsy boy who calls himself Mondo (Ovidiu Balan) wanders into the French community of Nice. Travelling on his own with no parents or relatives, Mondo makes his way through the sunny, sea-side community, meeting… More A boy with no family tries to recruit one in this charming light drama. A ten-year-old gypsy boy who calls himself Mondo (Ovidiu Balan) wanders into the French community of Nice. Travelling on his own with no parents or relatives, Mondo makes his way through the sunny, sea-side community, meeting friendly strangers and startling folks with the question, "Would you like to adopt me?" While Mondo doesn't find a new family right away, he leads a charmed life in Nice, where fate brings good things his way, and he wins a handful of new friends: a charming magician and high-wire artist (Philippe Petit) who hires Mondo as his helper; a woman from Vietnam (Pierrette Fesch) who gives the boy a place to stay; a fisherman (Maurice Maurin) who teaches Mondo the alphabet with the beach as his blackboard; and Dadi (Jerry Smith), a homeless man who knows how to get by on his own. However, Mondo knows that not every adult is his ally, as he evades policemen whose ideas about a young boy getting along without parents are different than his own. Mondo was based on a novel by noted French author J.M.G. Le Clezio, and it was the first of his works to be adapted for the screen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi