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The City of Lost Children

Play trailer Poster for The City of Lost Children R 1995 1h 51m Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
80% Tomatometer 61 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Old and decrepit Krank (Daniel Emilfork) has lost his capacity for dreaming and is attempting to fight death by stealing the dreams of children. Krank's cadre of cloned henchmen (Dominique Pinon) snatch 5-year-old Denree (Joseph Lucien) to subject him to the horrific dream-retrieval process. The boy's father, One (Ron Perlman), the hulking strongman of a traveling circus, and his precocious 9-year-old friend, Miette (Judith Vittet), join forces to defeat Krank's minions and save Denree.
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The City of Lost Children

The City of Lost Children

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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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Critics Reviews

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Michael Sragow The New Yorker 11/20/2013
Jeunet and Caro have distinctive signatures like nobody else's. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review Rich Cross Starburst 05/19/2023
5/5
An extraordinary and twisted fairytale... Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Romas M 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. See more 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. See more 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. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 1 Success in 1 hour and 51 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $1,900,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more 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. See more 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 See more Read all reviews
The City of Lost Children

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Cast & Crew

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Marc Caro

Director

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Director

Ron Perlman

One

Daniel Emilfork

Krank

Judith Vittet

Miette

Dominique Pinon

le scaphandrier
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The City of Lost Children

The City of Lost Children (1995) The City of Lost Children (1995) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Old and decrepit Krank (Daniel Emilfork) has lost his capacity for dreaming and is attempting to fight death by stealing the dreams of children. Krank's cadre of cloned henchmen (Dominique Pinon) snatch 5-year-old Denree (Joseph Lucien) to subject him to the horrific dream-retrieval process. The boy's father, One (Ron Perlman), the hulking strongman of a traveling circus, and his precocious 9-year-old friend, Miette (Judith Vittet), 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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