The City of Lost Children (1995)
"La cité des enfants perdus" (original title)

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

Directors:

Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writers:

Gilles Adrien, Jean-Pierre Jeunet,

Stars:

Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet

2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ron Perlman	...	One
Daniel Emilfork	...	Krank
Judith Vittet	...	Miette
Dominique Pinon	...	le scaphandrier / les clones
Jean-Claude Dreyfus	...	Marcello
Geneviève Brunet	...	la Pieuvre
Odile Mallet	...	la Pieuvre
Mireille Mossé	...	Mademoiselle Bismuth
Serge Merlin	...	Gabriel Marie (Cyclops Leader)
Rufus	...	Peeler
Ticky Holgado	...	Ex-acrobat
Joseph Lucien	...	Denree
Mapi Galán	...	Lune
Briac Barthélémy	...	Bottle
Pierre-Quentin Faesch	...	Pipo

Storyline

Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who cannot dream, kidnaps young children to steal their dreams. One (Ron Perlman), a former whale hunter who is as strong as a horse, sets forth to search for Denree, his little brother who was kidnapped by Krank's men. Helped by young Miette (Judith Vittet), he soon arrives in La Cite des Enfants Perdus (The City of Lost Children).

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Plot Keywords:

children | dream | aging | orphan | mad scientist | 

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Taglines:

Where happily ever after is just a dream.

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing and grotesque images of violence and menace

Details

Official Sites:

Pictures, Movie clips, complete movie & cast information.

Country:

France Germany Spain

Language:

French Cantonese

Release Date:

15 December 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

The City of Lost Children

Filming Locations:

Studios 91 Arpajon, Saint-Germain-les-Arpajon, Essonne, France

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,513,028 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Club d'Investissement Média, Eurimages, Studio Image

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To achieve the slightly skewed color scheme of the movie, the actors were made up in white face and the color palette corrected until they were flesh-toned.

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Goofs

The words from The Original that Miette remembers in flashback (after she receives Uncle Irvin's dream message) differ slightly from what The Original actually said, although the point of the message is still the same.

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Quotes

L'oncle Irvin: [Following through with his suggestion that a solution might be found found in an analysis of Krank's "tears"] Once upon a time there was an inventor so gifted that he could create life. A truly remarkable man.
Krank: [Sarcastically] A fairy tale! Tears are welling in my eyes.
L'oncle Irvin: Since he had no wife or children he decided to create them in his laboratory. He started with wife and fas into the most beautiful princess in the world. Alas, a wicked genetic fairy cast a spell on the inventor so much so that ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Petit Papa Noël"

User Reviews

Actually, quite good!

The first time I saw this movie I shook my head and wondered why I wasted three dollars renting this movie. It seemed to me that the storyline was worthless. However, I gave this movie a second chance, and this time instead of constantly reading the subtitles I paid more attention to the acting and events taking place on-screen.

I was shocked. The amount of creativity and symbolism blew me away. A lot of questions I had accumulated throughout my first viewing were answered by watching the movie carefully.

I recommend to everyone who thought this a poor movie to watch it again. If you don't speak French (like myself) try not to get so involved in the subtitles that you miss critical detail. It's there, and it's important, trust me!