The fantastic visions of Belgian filmmakers Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet find full fruition in this fairy tale for adults. Evoking utopias and dystopias from Brazil to Peter Pan, Caro and Jeunet create a vivid but menacing fantasy city in a perpetually twilight world. In this rough port town lives circus strongman One (Ron Perlman), who wanders the alleys and waterfront dives looking for his baby brother, snatched from him by a mysterious gang preying upon the children of the town. Rising from the harbor is an enigmatic castle where lives the evil scientist Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who has lost the ability to dream and robs the nocturnal visions of the children he kidnaps, but receives only mad nightmares from the lonely cherubs. Other wild characters include the Fagin-like Octopus--Siamese twin sisters who control a small gang of runaways-turned-thieves--Krank's six cloned henchmen (all played by the memorable Dominique Pinon from Delicatessen), and a giant brain floating in an aquarium (voiced by Jean-Louis Trintignant). Caro and Jeunet are kindred souls to Terry Gilliam (who is a vocal fan), creating imaginative flights of fancy built of equal parts delight and dread, which seem to be painted on the screen in rich, dreamy colors. --Sean Axmaker
A strongman and a little girl try to save a small boy's dream. Genre: Foreign Film - French Rating: R Release Date: 28-SEP-1999 Media Type: DVD
This is a really cool movie. Stunning set design. Like nothing else I've seen. Very original. Good story. Yeap!
"An ingenious work of art!"
Written By: John Lindsey
In a retro surrealist future or alternate time in a city somewhere, an evil old mad scientist named Krank (Daniel Emilfork) lives in a research oil rig where he kidnaps children to steal their dreams. A strong sideshow fellow named One (Ron Perlman) who's little brother (Josph Lucien) was taken away by Krank's cyclop troops. A band of orphans lead by Miette (Judith Viett) to help One as he deals with other troubles such as a siamese-twin teacer (Genevieve Brunet and Odile Mallet), a special flea trainer (Jean Claude Dreyfuss), Krank's midget wife (Mirelle Mosse) and Krank's clone children (Dominque Pinon).
Brilliant, dark and surreal French/Spanish/German Science Fiction Fantasy for adults from directors Jean Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro who did the equally bizarre but great "Delicatessen". The film plays as a cross between Oliver Twist and Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" as the film blooms with great performances, a twisted sense of humor, atmosphere and darkness abound. This movie maybe a required taste but for those looking for the odd but terrific i strongly recommend this masterpiece of fantasy and Science Fiction cinema to anyone who loves those genres but it isn't for everyone. This movie became a cult classic since 1995 as it helped influenced movies like "Dark City" and even video games like "BioShock" for you can see why.
This DVD has the French language version with subtitles even a dubbed track in English with little extras in this special edition DVD such as audio commentary, trailer, talent files, costume design gallery by Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Production Sketch Gallery.
Also recommended: "Dark City", "Sin City", "Dick Tracy", "The Fifth Element", "Brazil", "Pan's Labyrinth", "Time Bandits", "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen", "The Dark Crystal", "Hellboy 1 & 2", "Tideland", "The Imagarium of Dr. Pesseus", "12 Monkeys", "Alphaville", "Repo The Genetic Opera", "Making Contact (a.k.a. Joey)", "Spirited Away", "Metropolis (1927)", "Watchmen", "Harry Potter Series", "Inkheart", "The SpiderWick Chronicles", "Hellraiser 1 & 2", "Videodrome", "Coraline", "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night", "Big Trouble in Little China", "Labyrinth", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Beetlejuice", "Edward Scissorhands", "Delicatssen", "Amelie", "Alien Resurrection", "Nightwatch", "The Golden Compass"," Stardust", "MirrorMask", "Kafka", "Freaks (1933)", "Blade Runner", "The Crow", "Batman Returns", "Heavy Metal" and "The Trippletes of Belleville".
"City of Lost Children"
Written By: Carl Manes
Prepare yourself for my single most cliched description ever: CITY OF LOST CHILDREN is a stunning visual masterpiece. There. I said it. This film is absolutely amazing. The set design paints an incredible fairy tale world set in a dreary industrial wasteland. While many of the elements reflect our reality, they are twisted Expressionist interpretations of a world wrought in iron and steel recalling METROPOLIS or THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. A circus strongman sets out on a quest to save his little brother, who has been kidnapped by a mad genius that intends to steal the young boy's dreams. Like Peter Jackson, Alex Proyas, or Guillermo del Toro who were to follow, Jeunet and Caro beautifully marry the incredible sets and miniature work with groundbreaking computer imagery in such a way as to make them indistinguishable from one another. The strange and colorful characters feel like they escaped through Caroll's looking glass, creating a virtual Wonderland in a bleak futuristic society. Ron Perlman's efforts as the dull but courageous strongman may easily be his best performance, and he is joined by an equally talented cast including the gifted Judith Vittet, who plays his young sidekick Milette. To truly enjoy this film, one must fully succumb to the fantasy, since the narrative can sometimes become disjointed, and often follows a dream logic where different scenes and ideas bleed into one another without complete cohesion. I would go so far as to say that CITY OF LOST CHILDREN outdoes the masterful compositions in both DARK CITY and PAN'S LABYRINTH through its astonishing visual stylization. For an adventure into a fully realized realm of fantasy that crossbreeds German Expressionism with the darkest of the Grimm's fairy tales, CITY OF LOST CHILDREN becomes an absolute must see!
-Carl Manes I Like Horror Movies
"visual trip"
Written By: Robert Fake Name
"Fairy tale for adults": I hear that a lot, that expression. "Pan's Labyrinth" comes to mind. The Brothers Grimm collection of folk tales does too. Well as has been remarked, LOTS of stuff comes to mind when considering a picture like this. The excellent spotlighted customer review lists some that came to my mind too: Fritz Lang, Freud, Carl Jung, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Jean Cocteau, the Brothers Quay. I'll add Jules Verne and Fellini. OK, Roger Ebert mentioned Verne. (Ebert is a national treasure.) But what to make of it? "The City of Lost Children" is mostly a visual trip and less any sort of interesting tale that begs being deciphered. Read into it what you will, if you feel the desire to do so. I myself have mostly just enjoyed the imagery and I think the film is an unabashed celebration of film as primarily a visual medium.
"Crazy, Creepy, Beautiful."
Written By: Cia Cia
I came to this film reminiscent of the time I first fell in love with Amelie, thinking it would be another fantastical feast for the eyes. I was wrong - but only to a degree. From the get-go I was convinced I'd been taking some drugs and the beginning brought be back to the crawling baby scene in Trainspotting. Scared and disturbed, I was still intrigued. The more I watched the more I became engrossed in the characterization and yes - the beautiful, yet dull use, of reds and greens in the imagery. Ultimately, its plot is unforgettable and mesmerizing, but Ron Perlman's attempt at speaking French is a little bothersome and weird. It made me wonder if they made him a slow, lovable brute only after they heard him speak the language. Nevertheless, he doesn't speak as much as I'd thought he would and his acting is still wonderful and well-placed for this film. Rent it when you're feeling strange, curious and all-around adventurous.
"Great movie"
"An ingenious work of art!"
