The City of Lost Children (1995)
La Cité des Enfants Perdus

Writing by Gilles Adrien & Jean-Pierre Jeunet / Directed by Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork and Judith Vittet
112 min / Sony Pictures Classics / Rated R
Retail: $27.95 / Street: $24

I'm gonna have nightmares about this.

There's this 80's movie: Santa Claus: The Movie, that used to scare the hell out of me when I was a little kid. There's really no reason for it's existence. It doesn't help the scariness factor to mention that the film was European as well. European people have always scared me. The City of Lost Children is a cousin to that film - a much demented and even scarier vision, of course.

In this particular world, a mad scientist works to steal the dream energy of children. After his brother is kidnapped for his dreams, One the Bodybuilder (Ron Perlman) works with a young girl (Vittet) and her orphan gang to save the boy and themselves.

The look of the film is best described as steampunk - a somewhat futuristic world filled to the brim with fanastic machines, clockworks and lots and lots of brass and glass. It's the perfect environmental medium for a story about children, because it presents itself as both harmless and completely menacing. Off-key and menacing carnival music mixes with some Cirque de Soliel meets Blade Runner visuals. City of Lost Children works because the whole proceeding makes you very uncomfortable - you're always on the edge of your seat.

If The City of Lost Children's plot doesn't keep you interested, and it should, there's always something new and amazing on the screen to look at. The film is similar in theme and execution to the slightly better Dark City. If you enjoy either film, you'll certainly enjoy the other.

As for the acting, it's strange to see an American actor in a foreign flick, but Perlman falls neatly into the role. He's the kind of versitile actor that's been in everything from action (Blade II), comedy (Police Academy V), TV (Beauty and the Beast, he was the Beast) and tons of different foreign flicks (Spanish and German Language films). He gains more attention as the years go by. Now, with the high profile casting in the upcoming Hellboy, the demand for his talents will only grow larger.

The City of Lost Children is an amazing vision. Really a moving piece of art. It might not have the best plot or script, but it's always a beautiful thing to look at.

Movie Grade: A-

Video: 4 out of 5
The movie has a golden hue that really come through quite well. The black and color levels are well balanced, and there's very little grain.
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1, Full Screen - 1.33:1

Vittet and Perlman

Audio: 2 out of 5
Unfortunately, for such a visually rich film, there's very little in the way of dynamic audio. With only Dolby 2.0 tracks included, it's a bit of a disappointment. This flick really calls out for a crazy, environmental surround track but comes up short. The English dub of the film (never watch a dubbed movie, by the way, it's never a fun experience) is mixed much lower than the other tracks, so it's hard listening.
English (Dubbed) (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dubbed) (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)

Extras and Misc: 3 out of 5
I would have loved to seen some features on the lavish set and art production of the film, but alas, nothing. The commentary with Ron Perlman and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is interesting though. They acknowledge the fact that the film is confusing and call it an "experimental" film. The disc is a single disc in a keep case.

Overall: 4 out of 5
It's a really astounding film that interesting at every turn. Pick up the disc if you don't mind reading subtitles and don't hate the French completely.

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