The City of Lost Children is a 1995 French film set in a coastal city where children often disappear: kidnapped by a scientist who steals their dreams. With Sci-Fi elements and psychedelic visuals, the movie’s unique atmosphere is sure to draw in viewers.
The directors of the movie, Marc Caro and Jean–Pierre Jeunet, had previously collaborated on movies such as Delicatessen and The Bunker of Last Gunshots, before they began working on The City of Lost Children. Both directors are known for their surrealistic styles, whimsical storylines and intricate science-fiction worlds.
In a seaside dystopian city that emulates Victorian England with sci-fi twists, orphans and children disappear, never to be seen again. A scientist who cannot dream is kidnapping those children and taking their dreams to keep him from further aging. Children are used by orphanages to profit–forced to give up their childhood too early for a life of labor, and are hunted down or rejected if they can’t comply. The City of Lost Children focuses on found family, lost childhood and the dreams that we lose as we grow older.
The film opens to a Christmastime scene of a little boy staring intently at a toy. The toy claps its cymbals together, and the boy turns around. He is then delighted when Santa Claus drops down into the fireplace, but this joy morphs into horror as more Santas begin to fill the room. Overwhelmed, the child starts to sob. This starting scene—which we later realize is one of the children’s dreams-turned-nightmares—sets the mood of this film. From there, the movie dives right in with two complex storylines, interwoven at key moments.
One (yes, that’s the character’s name), is a circus strongman searching for his kidnapped brother, Denree. Miette is a girl running from a pair of exploitative twins who own the orphanage she is at. After they meet, our protagonists set off on the mission of recovering One’s brother after he is kidnapped by the Cyclops—a group of people who cannot see without their bionic eyes, and work for the scientist, Krank.
The other important storyline follows Krank, our antagonist, and his synthetic family. Krank, one of the synthesized humans of the family, along with Mademoiselle Bismuth, Uncle Irvin and six identical clones, were created by a scientist who is long-gone by this point. However, the scientist’s creations were all “cursed” in some way. Mademoiselle Bismuth, created to have been the scientist’s wife, was affected by dwarfism, while the clones are all narcoleptic. Uncle Irvin, a brain floating inside a fish tank, is plagued with migraines.
Krank is incapable of dreaming, and therefore kidnaps children and steals their dreams. However, he has been unsuccessful in his attempts thus far because any dream he tries to steal devolves into a nightmare in the frightened child’s mind.
One thing I loved about this movie were the visuals—the sets, costumes and props. Each scene has an intricate set that worked well with lighting to convey the mood of that scene. The sets were all so insanely detailed, and every little thing contributed hugely to the atmosphere of the film. The sets also helped to communicate the tone of the movie, and added small details to build up the world. For example, one of the scenes shows a collection of buildings, piled on top of one another. The industrial aspects—gears, pipes, plank pathways—built into the set greatly influence how you view the lives of those in the city.
Another aspect of the visuals that I loved was that characters had costumes that reflected their roles and personalities. Krank and his family all have clothes that show their imitation of upper-class society, but occasionally give way to the sterility of their lives. One and Miette both have costumes that express their social class as well. One’s torn sweater helps add to the idea that his brother was the only thing he had left in his life by showing his life of poverty.
I would recommend The City of Lost Children to anybody that enjoys surrealism and science fiction. I loved this movie for its elaborate set designs, interconnected storylines, and unique worldbuilding—blending surrealism with dark-and-dirty to create the epitome of dystopian worlds. Although I went into it with my doubts, I ended up really enjoying The City of Lost Children for many reasons, and would absolutely watch it again.
