The City of Lost Children
Directed by Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- fantasy
- science fiction
- adventure
The story
A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
What it’s like
Saturated, grimy and deliberately theatrical, with sickly yellows, bruised greens and oily blacks draped over a harbour city of rusting machinery, flooded docks and cluttered interiors lit by lamps and sea-fog. Jeunet and Caro's camera favours tilted angles, crowded frames and sudden close-ups of eyes, while the digitally-polished surfaces give everything a slightly unreal gloss that sits between fairground and nightmare. Dusty brass, clockwork and ink-dark water make the world feel handmade and mechanical at once. The score is a cabaret-tinged waltz, bright with accordion and organ, that turns queasy whenever the villains' quiet, sinister cruelty takes over. Pacing is loose and dreamlike, with comic set-pieces stitched to threatening ones, and the emotional register is wistful, absurd and strange, following a gruff outsider and a small girl's bond as both work out who they can trust. Intensity is moderate: peril, creepy grown-ups, a few brutal moments and some grotesque imagery, but little blood. Best for patient viewers who enjoy eccentric, storybook weirdness and a dark fairy tale on a rainy night.
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