City Of Lost Children, The - Dubbed Version on DVD (1995)

A Truly Superb Example Of The Surreal

Mark Adams from Manchester, England , 07/01/2005

Now this is my kind of film! Twisted, freaky, surreal as a turkey dancing the bolero, and wonderfully macabre. The City of Lost Children really is a wonderful film. The City of Lost Children is one of those preciously rare films where for the first fifteen minutes, you?re sat there going ?What the hell?!?. But unlike those films, with The City of Lost Children, you?re sat there going ?What the hell?!? for the whole film. I do surreal, I really, really do? but this film takes it to another level! This film aint for the kinda person who finds the plot of A Nightmare on Elm Street taxing. That kind of person, in their tragically dull and ignorant way, would most definitely not understand and would simply say this film is ?rubbish?. I pity them.

The characters range from evil Siamese twin women to a brain in a jar to five inept clones who argue about who was the first to a nutter with a hypnotic accordion to a nymphet who makes Natalie Portman in Leon look normal to an evil midget woman devoted to a messed up old man who is dying because he can?t dream. With the main character being the big bad from Blade II as a mentally challenged Circus strongman who?s little brother is stolen by the messed up old man who is dying because he can?t dream. Care Bears the Movie, this aint.

The music is haunting, freaky, and downright spine tingling, especially that scary, scary accordion. Ugh! Sends shivers down my spine thinking about it. Now *that* is the testament of a good score for a movie.

Darkly directed, set in a fantastical world, with a genius casting supervisor coupled with Jean-Paul Gaultier as the costume designer: you have a very, very stylised and distinctive ?look? to this film. And that look is freaky.

Normally, I really hate dubbed foreign films. There is so much stuff out there that has lousy, 99% of the time unemployed, talentless ?actors? doing voiceover after voiceover that doesn?t fit the lip synch. However, this the one film where the dubbing ADDS to the film! Yes, I personally feel that it adds. Because the film is so wonderfully surreal, the dubbing serves to exaggerate and emphasise this! Whether it was meant to, I don?t know, but for me, for one time only: dubbing rocks!

So to wrap up, did I mention this film is freaky? This is a film for the intelligent, the slightly twisted, and the kinda person that likes their humour dark and their plotlines a little different. That?s me. If that?s you too, watch it; if it aint, you?ll hate this film and simply won?t get it.

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Interesting?

David Wong from London, England , 23/11/2003

If you liked Amelie or Delicatessen, you may like this movie. Reminds me very much of Delicatessen. Set in an alternate future, unusual characters, and story.

Note:This is a French speaking film overdubbed with English(done well). Would have preferred the French speaking version or a choice of.

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Swimming in the subconscious

Jon23 from Bristol , 13/02/2004

If you have seen and enjoyed Delicatessen this film is for you. If you have seen and enjoyed any of Terry Gilliam's films, particularly Brazil, this is for you. If you don't like your fantasies dark, sinister, visually rich and very funny, or you expect a plot that makes real-world sense, watch something else, you would not enjoy this.

"It's hard to be original." Quoting one of the characters quite out of context, this film takes a kitchen sink-full of phantastical stock elements and disproves this by producing something like a demented version of Oliver, without the singing.

Finally, Jeunet and Caro have handled the intmacy between a streetwise little girl and a dimwitted strongman with incredible sensitivity. I don't think anyone else could get away with this. (Credit to the actors also, of course).

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A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.

A customer from not where i wanna be , 29/01/2006

The City of Lost Children gets two platinum stars and also moves up to one of my top ten favorite films of all time. This is a confusing story, from beginning to end it expands your mind, reaches into your nightmares, and creates a story that is part Dark City and part of a novel called 'The Golden Compass' by Phillip Pullman.

Yes, this film was everything and more. Not only visually beautiful, but the creative and symbolic meaning of the actions and words of the characters are 'jaw dropping'. Also, there are so many sub-stories in this film that reminded me of the style that Run Lola Run was done. This is the style that due to a connection of unrelated events something extraordinary happens. Let me give you an example from this film: There is a scene where the girl and One (Ron Pearlman-also a very biblical name) are trying to escape from the two women who want their jewels. There are events that lead from a dog finding its female companion to a boat almost hitting/splitting the women in half. Wild coincidences...imagine this times ten, and you have this film.

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Swimming in the subconscious

Jon23 from Bristol , 13/02/2004

If you have seen and enjoyed Delicatessen this film is for you. If you have seen and enjoyed any of Terry Gilliam's films, particularly Brazil, this is for you. If you don't like your fantasies dark, sinister, visually rich and very funny, or you expect a plot that makes real-world sense, watch something else, you would not enjoy this.

"It's hard to be original." Quoting one of the characters quite out of context, this film takes a kitchen sink-full of phantastical stock elements and disproves this by producing something like a demented version of Oliver, without the singing.

Finally, Jeunet and Caro have handled the intmacy between a streetwise little girl and a dimwitted strongman with incredible sensitivity. I don't think anyone else could get away with this. (Credit to the actors also, of course).

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