Why...?
Why is Momo's father always talking about a brother who doesn't exist? When the mother comes back, she says that she had only had one son. If anyone knows about it, I'd love to share that information :-)
shareGood question. Even Ibraham remembers Pauli. He does say, "Pauli left..." so maybe mother is in denial or something.
shareI think Paulie was someone Momo’s father made up to motivate Momo to be the kind of son he’d always wanted (“Paulie liked to read”). This didn’t seem to have the intended effect and Momo in fact ended up hating Paulie. Remember the scene where he declares this as he slams the door?
About Ibrahim remembering Paulie, I remember he gets quite heated when Momo mentions Paulie to him. He probably chooses not to tell Momo that there is no Paulie because that would have made Momo even more distant from his father than he already was. I think the reason why Ibrahim says he likes Momo “1000 times better” than Paulie is because he sees the negative effect the constant comparisons to Paulie has on the boy’s self confidence and how unloved it makes him feel.
Also, the ‘Paulie’ episode might be an allusion to an idea the author is trying to convey. The film is set in the 1960s (think Arab-Israeli war) about the friendship between a Jewish boy and a man he thought was Arab (who turns out to be Turkish). Maybe, through the ‘Paulie’ story, it’s trying to say that all the hatred or sense of inferiority some people seem to feel towards to some ‘group’ or other (religious, ethnic etc.) is so often mostly fuelled by their imaginations rather than anything real. As the song in the end credits says “why can’t we all live together/you are my brother.”
Sorry about the long reply. :)
Thanks! I was really interested to know.
share