The City of Lost Children

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The City of Lost Children

R

1995

1h 51m

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

61 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Old and decrepit Krank has lost his capacity for dreaming and is attempting to fight death by stealing the dreams of children. Krank's cadre of cloned henchmen snatch 5-year-old Denree to subject him to the horrific dream-retrieval process. The boy's father, One, the hulking strongman of a traveling circus, and his precocious 9-year-old friend, Miette, join forces to defeat Krank's minions and save Denree.

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Critics Consensus

Not all of its many intriguing ideas are developed, but The City of Lost Children is an engrossing, disturbing, profoundly memorable experience.

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Michael Sragow

The New Yorker

11/20/2013

Jeunet and Caro have distinctive signatures like nobody else's.

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Jeff Shannon

Seattle Times

11/20/2013

3/4

On visual terms alone, The City of Lost Children is something of a masterpiece, using state-of-the-art physical, optical and digital special effects to stretch cinematic boundaries.

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Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

11/20/2013

3.5/4

Essentially, The City of Lost Children is a macabre fairy tale, and while its tentacled comic-book plot and freak-show cast narrow its appeal -- this isn't a work of any allegorical depth -- Caro and Jeunet have pulled off a cinematic delight.

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Stephen A. Russell

Orion's Shoulder (Substack)

Mar 6

As twisted a tale as you’ll encounter, right down to Ron Perlman performing in French phonetically, it’s a cornerstone of my youthful cinematic awakening.

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Rich Cross

Starburst

05/19/2023

5/5

An extraordinary and twisted fairytale...

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

12/05/2022

3.5/4

Best described as a hybrid of Terry Gilliam and the Coens, with dashes of Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, and Rube Goldberg added to the mix.

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Romas M

@Romas Dec 11

Greetings from Lithuania. "The City Of Lost Children" (1995) is a film that is like no other i've ever seen. That is a compliment and at the same time disadvantage. Set design was immersive and unique. Costumes, make up were as well impressive. But i didn't like the storytelling a bit. Honestly, after first 10 minutes i was off after I kind of understood quickly what type of a movie i was in. It is bizarre movie, with a lot of scenes and choices that weren't clicking to me. Some of them are so atrocious in its design that they distract and are simply "in your face", to simply put you off from a classic storytelling. I like this kind of stuff in a movie with a clear vision and design, but this film wasn't that one for me. Overall, "City of Lost Children" was a big disappointment for me. It is still a watchable movie because of its visuals, but overall storytelling wasn't for me.

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Thomas S

Dec 5

La Cité des enfants perdus est un film dystopique d’une esthétique saisissante, dont l’atmosphère continue de hanter longtemps après le générique. On y retrouve cette patte visuelle sombre et baroque qui a clairement inspiré l’univers de Bioshock. Le film regorge de scènes mémorables — notamment celles mettant en scène les jumelles siamoises à la voix glaçante — et de répliques cultes, comme celle, inoubliable, de la naine transpercée par un harpon : « Je suis allergique au fer. » Une œuvre étrange, inventive et profondément marquante.

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Melanie C

Aug 22

A dystopian sci-fi fantasy world that's as beautiful as it is bleak. I would recommend it to everyone but not everyone appreciates real art.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 1

Success in 1 hour and 51 minutes.

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John G

Feb 6

I need add only this to all the other approving comments: an essential feature of the film is the beautiful music by Angelo Badalamenti.

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Craig S

12/12/2024

Great cinematography, great sound, great story and concepts, funny and some really fine acting & script writing…. It has a bit of everything

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Marc Caro

Director

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Director

Ron Perlman

One

Daniel Emilfork

Krank

Judith Vittet

Miette

Dominique Pinon

le scaphandrier

Definitive Ron Perlman Roles

Ron Perlman’s Best Movies

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Talks Micmacs

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Synopsis

Old and decrepit Krank has lost his capacity for dreaming and is attempting to fight death by stealing the dreams of children. Krank's cadre of cloned henchmen snatch 5-year-old Denree to subject him to the horrific dream-retrieval process. The boy's father, One, the hulking strongman of a traveling circus, and his precocious 9-year-old friend, Miette, join forces to defeat Krank's minions and save Denree.

Director: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Producer: Félicie Dutertre
Screenwriter: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, Gilles Adrien, Guillaume Laurant
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Rating: R
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 28, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.9M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Surround

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