The French fantasy adventure "The City of Lost Children'' is a dark phantasmagoria so visually amazing and provocative -- yet dense and confusing -- that viewers may need to see it more than once to take it all in. Or to figure out exactly what it's all about. But it doesn't matter. When a film looks as odd and fantastical -- hypnotically so -- as this, who cares if there's a clear-cut plot? In fact, "The City of Lost Children'' does have a plot in its often startling, always riveting look at the longing by cynical adults for the innocent dreams of childhood. But co-directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro (Delicatessen) want things to be knotted, layered and suggestive.
The film seems to say that if you look a fairy tale in the eye, you're actually looking at a jungle of mixed-up mythology, religion, dreams and mind control. Even innocence isn't as innocent it seems.
CHILD-STEALING
Anybody who needs movies dished up in uncluttered
A-B-C terms will probably get impatient with "The City of Lost Children.''
They will be among the lost themselves, as the story sloshes between the
actions of a gentle giant named One (Ron Perlman) who joins up with a precocious
9-year-old girl, Miette (Judith Vittet), in a heroic journey to save a kidnapped
5-year-old boy, and the fiendish manipulations of a twisted old man named
Krank (Daniel Emilfork), mastermind of a child-stealing operation.
In the fantasy realm, the film is a stunner. And funny, too. The shrewish-looking Krank, for example, lives in what looks like an offshore oil rig. There he communicates with a disembodied brain that is kept in an aquarium. He struggles to regain his lost ability to dream by tapping into the brains of kidnapped kids.
SHADES OF DICKENS
Krank's servants are six clones (all played by Dominique
Pinon) who try to soothe the old man with bedtime stories. Meanwhile, back
in a dark city that could be Marseille in winter, a dreary orphanage is
operated by evil Siamese twins, hags who call themselves the Octopus (Genevieve
Brunet and Odile Mallet). In a take-off on Dickens' Fagin, the orphans are
ordered to steal -- and punishment is life in a hole filled with horrible
spiders. The film also features a sect of menacing male cyclopes who see
through optical devices affixed to helmets. Their hearing is so hypersensitive
that the slightest noise, especially from kids, drives them into a murderous
rage. There's a drug dealer who uses the critters from his flea circus to
deliver his mind-altering wares, and a reclusive deep-sea diver who recycles
undersea trash.
The big star of the movie is its look. The film's complex design makes it seem like an enormous, cavernous contraption whose characters are bound in contraptions of their own -- except for the giant One and the kids, who might be called the uncluttered. The design suggests a French carnival, a house of horrors, a machine, a city of mean streets, a mad scientist's laboratory. Children, and adults with adventurous taste in movies, will find this among the most eye-popping big-screen experiences in ages. But don't be surprised if some people can't abide the thing.
"CITY OF LOST CHILDREN"
Jon Sheedy's favourite film of all time.
What a mondo-bizarro, supercalifragilisticexpealadosious, mind-blowing, you've NEVER seen anything like this before....movie! When I first popped this baby into the ole VHS, I knew it would be one-of-a-kind. What I didn't realize is how many light years beyond anything else I'd ever seen this film would look. LOOK...that is what this film is ALL about! Believe me if it's eye candy you crave...look no further. This is it! It's going to be very hard indeed for another movie to approach the visual impact of "City of Lost Children". The story is a strange brew of Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, Terry Gilliam, and a whole slew of other influences. It's quite complex and very hard to follow. You may have to have a repeat viewing, or two, to make sense of some story aspects. That won't be very hard I promise you, because there is SO MUCH to see visually that you will want to see it again, and again to see everything. The co-directors Jeunet, who I understand guides the actors, and Caro who creates the visuals have thrown in so many wonderful sights and as I mentioned earlier, a very complex story line. The film is literally bursting at the seams...it's packed!
Ron Perlman plays One, a sad strongman with a kind of travelling show. The opening scenes, which involve numerous Santa Clauses and babies, leave you wondering what this could all possibly be about, but it eventually all adds up. When One's adopted little brother is abducted by some very strange men who have these weird eyepieces, and to whom sound can kill, he begins to chase these beings around to rescue his little bro. About this time we also meet the Octapuss...you've never seen a villian like this before, who is like a Siamese twin from hell. The Octapuss is a sight to behold all to herself. Don't miss her ballet of motions at the kitchen stove....WILD! Anyway, the Octapuss is the Faginish ring leader of this band of children who are apparently looting huge sums of money and jewlery. one of these kids, who have some very original means of breaking and entering, running away, and crossing water canals, is a girl named Miette. Eventually she becomes friends with One, who becomes the brother she never had and also his partner in finding his little brother. You think the story's getting complicated? Well, we haven't even gotten to the Brain in the tank, the stealer of children's dreams, the quadruplet nephews of the Brain, the underwater clone of the quadruplets, and...the trained killer fleas, who inject a tiny vial of poison into scalps which creates a very unpleasant effect. Someone call 911...I'm rambling and I can't stop!
That's enough about the story…it's giving me a headache. I would like to mention the sets and design of this movie. Yeah, I know I already did...but I mean REALLY mention 'em! The sets, which I was recently amazed when I read a review stating something to the effect that "Terry Gilliam owes a lot of the inspiration for his last film, "12 Monkeys" to "City of Lost Children"...this is ludicrous, "City of Lost Children" owes a HUGE debt to "Brazil"...are, I have to say are at least equal to "Brazil's". The world created in "City of Lost Children" is truly an amazing accomplishment. The costumes are also fantastic. I cannot wait to see what these two guys cook up in the future! I've heard that there is a version dubbed in English...It is said to be very well done. I hope this film is released on DVD very soon...I don't know if I can wait though, I might have to stoop down to the ole VHS once again.
"CITY OF LOST CHILDREN"
"Movie Magazine International" Review -- By Alex Lau
You can have your Tarantino - Schwarzenegger - Stallone - pumped-up-on-steroids-Hollywood action flick any day. It's not often you get to see a truly entertaining, twisted, and imaginative story with visual effects that are straight out of a dream, or a nightmare.
"The City of Lost Children" is one of these films. Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who last brought us the whacked-out, post-apocalyptic "Delicatessen," directed this amazing piece of work.
The characters include an acromegalic strongman named One, played by Ron Perlman; a smart young orphan named Miette; a set of Siamese twins nicknamed The Octopus; six genetically engineered clones; a talking brain inside what looks like a fish tank; a trained flea; and a mad genius whose only flaw is, he cannot dream.
To work around this flaw, Krank, the genius, kidnaps children from the nearby town to steal their dreams. But after seeing him, their dreams turn out to be nightmares, so he must find a child who is not afraid of him.
It's a disturbing view, not quite as much fun as "Delicatessen," but definitely worth the time and effort. "The City of Lost Children" is in limited release around the country, so be sure to go find it.
Ju's Review on "THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN"
"The City of Lost Children" is a completely absorbing and captivating film; it is also in my mind, one of Ron's finest performances and certainly one of his sweetest roles.
Ron takes the lead role as the simple yet heroic and loyal strong man One. Although outwardly child-like Ron conveys, through his expressions and gestures, a man of much deeper feeling than might be expected, quickly engaging us in his plight and swiftly stealing our hearts in the process. The film makes maximum use of this expressiveness, and so much feeling is generated through Ron's eyes and body language that it would be impossible not to feel connected to his character. There are many poignant moments in this film, for example when One is talking to Miette about his past; " One sailor.. harpooned whales.. one day One hear whale singing.. after .. always, always the target I miss.. One loses job ". As he speaks he slowly mimics a futile stabbing motion and his eyes are so sad that your heart cannot fail but go out to him.
This is however quite an unusual film, shot in a dark 'underworld'. It has the surreal feel of having just walked into the middle of a child's dream, with a plot that just as you think you're approaching the core, spirals off in a completely new direction. It is quite ingenious though the way it sweeps you along, twisting and turning through a series of inner plots, making you feel as though you've just fallen straight into a children's adventure novel. The whole film is full of bizarre scenarios and you're kept hovering just between fascination and disbelief.
The strongest thread throughout the story is the developing relationship between the two main characters One and Miette, the young orphan girl he befriends. Miette's adult-child matches One's gentle innocence and they find an extraordinary equality. Both finding in the other a part of what is missing in themselves.
This is really what holds the film together as we follow them on their quest to save One's kidnapped 'little brother' Denree, and stay alive - not easy when you have two Fagin-style Siamese twins, a whole bunch of Cyclops, a brain in a box, a man who can't cry, a shrunken woman, four identical brothers and a man with poisonous fleas chasing you!
"The City of lost Children" has a compelling way of switching between emotions too, one moment it is crazy and humorous the next it is tender and dramatic. Ron has this incredible ability to adapt quickly from one to another and in the scene where he has been drugged, the menace within his eyes and stature is so completely believable, it's unnerving. There are some absolutely gem scenes - like the plank scene - now if that isn't one of the kookiest near death scenes ever (!) - Death by Seagull! (Priceless). Yet it's really tender too and it also has one of THE looks of the film for me, when One turns to Miette and holding his head slightly to one side, he says with great sad eyes, " Miette too little " - Well - I melted (!) - I swear I melted straight through my sofa !
The version I watched had been dubbed into English (Ron had dubbed his part as One), and I have to say the way he says "ray-dee-eh-torr" with huge soulful eyes could melt souls!
His comic timing too is wonderful; the whole scene where One is confronted by a lady of the night as he sits in a bar getting steadily drunk is just hilarious. Distraught by Miette's presumed drowning he slowly starts to notice the woman and then just as she thinks she's in luck, he suddenly remembers Miette again and thumps back down onto the table with a huge sigh! Moment's later Miette re-appears and One's face throughout is an absolute picture!
I particularly liked the ageing sequence at the end of the film, it was such a fascinating finale, bringing the film to a nice natural close as Miette, One and little brother are brought together at last.
This film is full of clever plot twists and off the wall humour and it has such tenderness and charm that it cannot fail but appeal, it has a way of really growing on you with each viewing, it just gets better and better, definitely a film to be seen time and time again.
By Julie Pike. 1995.
