The City of Lost Children (1995)

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

3 wins & 12 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 (as Genevieve Brunet)
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 (as Mapi Galan)
Briac Barthélémy	...	Bottle (as Briac Barthelemy)
Pierre-Quentin Faesch	...	Pipo

Storyline

Set in a dystopian society, someone is kidnapping the children. Krank and his band of clones are using the children to harvest their dreams. Then they kidnap Denree, the brother of One, a fairground strongman. One sets out to find his brother.

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Plot Keywords:

children | dream | aging | girl | rescue | 

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Taglines:

Some people follow their dreams. Others steal them.

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Genres:

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 Belgium

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 USA:

$1,513,028

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

One female character is heard to say "sure" even though her mouth doesn't move.

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Quotes

Miette: When you're born in the gutter you end up in the port.

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Connections

Referenced in Dark City (1998)

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Soundtracks

Serenade Gouden Hart

User Reviews

The Lost City of Cinema-Gold!

"The City of Lost Children" is unquestionably one of the most imaginative and exceptional films of the entire 90's decade and it pretty much represents an entire sub genre all by itself! It's a dark and often disturbing fairy-tale, but nevertheless magical and child-friendly. Since this is a film by Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet, you simply know to expect a unique and surreal story (remember "Delicatessen"?) filled with extravagant characters and bizarre dreamscapes! It's enchanting to observe and quite challenging to follow, as there's always some ingenious gimmick to distract your attention from the main plot. I got hooked on it right from the GENIUS opening sequence in which a child's dream about Santa Claus slowly turns into an eerie nightmare. The action then cuts to the "main" character; the evil Krank who's unable to dream himself and hence kidnaps orphans in order to steal their dreams. Krank has an army of semi-human androids, one brother cloned six times, an uncanny midget-mother AND a malicious brain in a fish tank! Ron Perlman is a good guy for once! He portrays a simple-minded yet friendly strongman, assisted in the search for his abducted little brother by a witty young girl. "The City of Lost Children" is an amazingly energetic and vivid adventure and no self-respecting cinema fanatic can afford him/herself to miss it! It's funny, frightening, emotional and intelligent all at once. The decors are mesmerizing, the music is dazzling and the special effects are staggering. I can keep on mentioning good aspects, but it all comes down to one thing: watch this film!!! It's still regretfully underrated and we urgently need to change that!