La Cité Des Enfants Perdus, The City of Lost Children (1995)
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Written by: Gilles Adrien, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Starring: Daniel Emilfork, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Judith Vittet, Mireille Mossé, Ron Perlman
THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (1995)
Directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
French Language with English Subtitles
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray and DVD
After his little brother Grub is kidnapped, sideshow strongman One seeks the help of a group of orphans, led by courageous Crumb, to track him down. Meanwhile, on an offshore rig away from the port town, a crazed scientist named Krank will stop at nothing to gain the ability to dream, aided and abetted by short of stature Mademoiselle Bismuth, a group of clones, and a floating brain in a tank known as Uncle Irvin.
A feast for the eyes and the imagination, THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, transports you to another world, filled with the eye-catching style of Marc Caro (Delicatessen) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie), with costume design by Jean Paul Gaultier, whose work can also be seen in fellow sci-fi fantasy spectacle, The Fifth Element. Embracing Terry Gilliam-esque surrealism with a blend of Parisian style and steampunk, we have a movie that mesmerises through its simplicity and unity as brawny One (Ron Perlman) and smart cookie, Crumb (Judith Vittet), work together to rescue gassy young Grub (Joseph Lucien) who’s been whisked away by a gang known as the Cyclops. For what purposes has Grub and other children in the town been kidnapped? The film reveals its hand straight away as we meet a peculiar set of characters holed up on an old, abandoned oil rig. Occupied by science experiments gone awry, the only voice of reason in the rig belongs to Irvin, a floating brain in a cabinet tank who communicates through gramophone speakers. The whole set up on the rig is curious as we see several Dominique Pinons haplessly running around the place, shepherded by petite Mademoiselle Bismuth (Mireille Mossé), whilst the wizened scientist Krank (played with relish by Daniel Emilfork) attempts to experience that which seems to be just out of reach: the ability to dream.
The film flits between scenes of the opposing sides, as we see Krank’s up his efforts to dream, and One and Crumb’s hard-fought quest to locate and rescue little brother, Grub. It’s the scenes with One and Crumb though that are the most exciting to watch as they have to overcome several obstacles along the way. Throughout their journey, other characters are thrown into the mix who are just as curious and captivating as the next, such as the conjoined twins who run the orphanage as a profiteering, criminal venture, and the hired assassin Marcello (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), whose secret weapon involves his pet flea and playing a hurdy gurdy.
Whilst the story is one part of the movie, it’s the visuals that undoubtedly steal the show in THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN. The use of murky greens, browns and blacks have never looked so beautiful, and it’s clear to see that thought and passion has been poured into every inch of set dressing, costume, makeup and aesthetic to create what we see on screen. For anyone who truly appreciates the spectacle cinema can offer, you’ll not be disappointed by this movie.
The Blu-Ray of the THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN really allows you to appreciate the colour palette that the filmmakers have gone for, whilst the disc comes complete with behind-the-scenes and on-set featurettes, an archival interview with Jean-Paul Gaultier, and a lengthy new interview with filmmakers Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who give great insight into the concept of taking their comic to film and the casting process. The disc also features an audio commentary with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Grungy, fantastical and utterly beautiful in its own way, THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN is as near to witnessing a live-action dreamscape as I’ve seen, with all the horrors, worries and joys that underpin the journey we experience as we sleep.
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