The City of Lost Children

As in Amelie and Delicatessen, Jeunet is interested in the complex connections between things, even as small as a flea. The film is not so much about a story as it is about illustrating how the characters got where they are, often with a fast- paced sequence of events like a Rube Goldberg device. Open up your eyes and mind to the world that is created here, leave behind expectations of how it should function or how the plot should advance. You will be richly rewarded. The sets and costumes are gorgeous, true enough, but the true beauty lies in the characters and their lives; the children that are too grown up, the hero who is more a child than they are, the imperfect creations of science, and the improbable leftovers of a circus freak show.