The City of Lost Children (Widescreen/Full Screen)

 

 

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I had been dancing around this French film (with subtitles) for several months, unsure how I would react to it, but I finally took the plunge and booked my passage to The City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus). Now I could sit here and ooh and aah all over the place about how beautiful and original this film is, but I have to give it to you straight: the story is almost completely illogical. This is one of your "most of what I learned about the film came from reading the plot summary" kind of movie. It's fascinating in its dark, fantastical way, of course, but I would really have liked to have a plot I could follow. The setting is unworldly  it's like they put Tim Burton, a couple of anime directors, Charles Dickens, and scores of German expressionists in a locked room and forced them to collaborate on the design of this world. Fortunately, the film does have one saving grace  young Judith Vittet. Not only does she turn in a masterful performance, she's the only buoy of sanity I could find in this ocean of craziness.

Basically, the film is about this strange man who steals children, hooks them up to machines, and steals their dreams because he is incapable of dreaming himself. His entourage consists of a number of annoying clones and a small army of humanoids who look like they're in the early stages of assimilation by the Borg. I don't understand why they depend on technology to see and hear, but I suspect it's just an excuse for the director to give us night-vision type shots every so often when they're out on the hunt for new little dreamers. At the same time, you also have a pair of Fagin-like Siamese twins running a racket of child thieves all over town. One of these kids, Miette (Vittet), teams up with One (Ron "The Beast" Perlman), a strongman who is desperate to save his little brother from the clutches of the dream-stealing guy. Along the way to that end, this unlikely duo encounters an underwater diver, trained fleas, and all sorts of weirdness.

The relationship between One and Miette is really the heart of the story. One (Perlman), I should mention, seems to be somewhat mentally challenged, making Miette the true grown-up in the relationship. Theirs is a bond much like an older brother to a younger sister, but I'm one of those who felt that the relationship really walked a fine line between something wholesome and something a little beyond the pale. They never crossed the line, mind you, but this part of the story may be suggestive to some viewers.

There is, fittingly enough, a dream-like character to the cinematography and story presentation  and, perhaps in that sense, it's OK that the plot doesn't always make sense. A tighter story line, though, would undoubtedly have made this otherwise lush and intriguing film more successful. I'm all for suspending my disbelief, but I really need to know what I'm suspending it for. The City of Lost Children, with its eye-catching visuals and superb soundtrack, is almost the total package  all it lacks is a more lucid plot.

From the duo that made the visually innovative and exhilarating Delicatessen, the City of Lost Children exhibits the same ability to translate dreams to the screen, share a poetic and original vision, as shown since in Alien Resurrection and Amelie. Ultimately though, this movie is a disappointment : poor dialogues, and, mostly, a wholly predictable plot. A fairy tale it is, a visual treat no doubt, but lacking of a compelling story.

I'll have to say that this movie is one of the scariest and saddest movies that I've ever seen, although it is very unique and even enjoyable at times because of the insane amounts of creativity that is present in every single scene.

One of the main problems that I had with this movie were precisely because of the creativity; the story moves quickly, and because so much of it is so new, I was often confused about many things. I would even suggest reading a partial plot summary of it before you've seen it, so you have some idea of what's going on, because otherwise it can be a confusing experience.

Of course, I'm sure that if I watched the movie again I would understand much more of it in hindsight. However, I'm not sure that I would want to watch this movie again. Despite being extremely well directed and filmed, it sits heavy on the soul, and I'm pretty sure that certain scenes from it will find a way to get into my dreams and turn them into nightmares (just like a recurrent theme in the movie). It doesn't really have what one would call a happy ending, either.

Another note; the version that I saw was dubbed in English, and while most of the voice acting was fairly good, I didn't think that Myet's English voice really fit her character.

Well, those are my thoughts. Whatever you do, don't show this film to your kids before bedtime. ;)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Weird?
This movie has a lot of imiganation going for it. It has all sorts of crazy characters, a gang of child thiefs, a grown up with the mental capacity of a child, a brain in an... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Corpse

2.0 out of 5 stars Just wasn't my kind of movie...
On many levels this movie is great. Visually stunning & extremely stylish. Looked forward to it when I bought it and did not like it at all. Read more

Published on April 3 2009 by A. CHIASSON

2.0 out of 5 stars jacque le blew- this blew!!!!!!!!
i take back my title , maybe this movie just wasn't for everyone. the dubbing was awful, and story just dragged on for too long. but all isn't lost........ Read more

Published on July 8 2004 by nikinak

5.0 out of 5 stars The wierdest movie I've ever seen!
This was one of the most bizarre and well done movies I've ever seen. It took me about three times watching it to understand the plot completely, but it was well worth it. Read more

Published on Jun 13 2004 by Emily Bronte

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
So few movies these days really capture my mind. This is one of those movies from start to finish hands down one of the best. Read more

Published on Jun 13 2004 by P. Jameson

5.0 out of 5 stars An adult-fairy tale
What does a man-made being who can't dream do? Why, take dreams from children of course. Although this twisted version of a fairy tale may be an aquired taste, it's definately... Read more

Published on Jun 5 2004 by Wayne

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone
I read other reviews to make sure that I don't repeat anything. As always, a movie cannot satisfy everyone. So I wasn't surprised to see 5 stars as well as 1 stars. Read more

Published on May 2 2004 by Arvind Kumar

5.0 out of 5 stars Wierd and trippy, but great
This is definitely a French film. It's very surreal and the first time I watched it I had a little trouble following who was doing what and why. Read more

Published on April 30 2004 by Annaleise Ferreira

5.0 out of 5 stars strange
The costumes, characters and strange sets are wonderful. It's very rich, visually, so if you are an artist you will probably appreciate it. Read more

Published on April 28 2004 by little mockingbird

1.0 out of 5 stars Only Watch To Induce Sleep
I rented this French movie from Netflix based on all the great reviews it had. I'm not convinced! I turned it off halfway through and I haven't done that to a movie in a long... Read more

Published on Mar 24 2004 by Fractal Rock

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