“Never give up and good luck will find you.”
synopsis
A shy, bullied boy named Bastian ducks into a bookstore and begins reading a mysterious volume titled The NeverEnding Story. As he turns the pages, he becomes absorbed in the land of Fantasia, a magical realm threatened by an all-consuming force known only as “The Nothing.” A young warrior, Atreyu, embarks on a perilous quest to save the Childlike Empress, encountering ancient turtles, racing snails, sorrowful swamps, and a luckdragon named Falkor. Gradually, Bastian realizes he is not just reading the story — he is part of it.
pairs well with ...
mini-review
This is childhood wonder mixed with existential dread in a way that somehow works. It treats fantasy seriously without becoming oppressive, and its emotional beats land harder than many films twice as “epic.” The imagery — the ivory tower, the Southern Oracle, the vast emptiness of The Nothing — stays with you. It’s earnest in a way modern fantasy rarely dares to be. There’s no irony buffer here. It believes in imagination as salvation. And that sincerity is exactly why it endures.
A nostalgic evening when you’re feeling slightly reflective and want to remember what stories felt like before cynicism entered the chat.
Absurdist's Corner
The Nothing is described as “the absence of imagination”… and yet it manifests as a perfectly visible, dramatic storm cloud.
fun facts
Produced in Germany, it was one of the most expensive non-American films ever made at the time.
Falkor was a full-scale animatronic creature requiring multiple operators.
The film only adapts the first half of Michael Ende’s novel.