The City of Lost Children
1995, Fantasy, 1h 51m
56 Reviews 50,000+ RatingsWhat to know
Not all of its many intriguing ideas are developed, but The City of Lost Children is an engrossing, disturbing, profoundly memorable experience. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
One
Krank
Miette
le scaphandrier, les clones
Marcello
la Pieuvre
News & Interviews for The City of Lost Children
Critic Reviews for The City of Lost Children
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (12)
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Jeunet and Caro have distinctive signatures like nobody else's.
November 20, 2013 -
On visual terms alone, The City of Lost Children is something of a masterpiece, using state-of-the-art physical, optical and digital special effects to stretch cinematic boundaries.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
Essentially, The City of Lost Children is a macabre fairy tale, and while its tentacled comic-book plot and freak-show cast narrow its appeal -- this isn't a work of any allegorical depth -- Caro and Jeunet have pulled off a cinematic delight.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review… -
The City of Lost Children gets so caught up in its own weirdness that it all but shuts out the viewer.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review… -
An empty triumph of overkill set design and weirdo casting.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review… -
Set in a wondrously seedy waterfront world populated with runaway children and grotesque, sinister adults, it glistens with dense fantasies, technological feats that make the catch-phrase "state of the art" seem antique.
December 7, 2012 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for The City of Lost Children
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Oct 02, 2015As one person on here quite astutely observed, "It's Blade Runner as made by circus artists." Comparing it to Blade Runner may sound like a bit much, but its look and set design's imagination are about on par with that film. What really makes the difference in this movie is the warping and confounding narrative, which is all over the place. Its weirdness so shunts the audience that in the end the film becomes a strange and befuddling [and at moments exasperating] oddity. It lives in the line between child fantasy and macabre dystopia. The human moments are what tie this movie together -- every scene with the little girl Miette [Judith Vittet] makes the film, in particular her relationship with One [Ron Perlman]. I almost feel bad giving such an imaginative movie such a low rating, because there are aspects of this that are truly imaginative and brilliant, but along with imagination a film must have cohesion and some amount of accessibility to rate higher. Overall, the film is imaginative, confounding, a bit disturbing, and strange, with a small dose of humanness thrown in every once in awhile.Kyle M Super Reviewer
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Sep 28, 2015The City of Lost Children is a must-see for lovers of the surreal, especially steam punk. The film is rated R but has PG feel to it; it is like the fantasy adventure movies of the 80s with plenty humor and a bit of the grotesque mixed in (very reminiscent of Terry Gilliam films, though the vibe is different). The plot is not the greatest but sometimes I rate the film up because it has great style and outstanding visuals.Robert B Super Reviewer
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Feb 22, 2015A steam-punk carnival of grotesque extravaganza. The City of Lost Children is a disturbing tale of a scientist's fascination with dreams which reflected the problem of aging. Ron Perlman was an interesting cast but nevertheless an excellent addition.Sylvester K Super Reviewer
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Aug 05, 2014When a scientist kidnaps a brute's sister, he must join a group of urchins to retrieve her. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, one of our most imaginative and interesting filmmakers, throws all his cards on the table in this film. At each turn, Jeunet's world unfolds, and it's a dark vision in which a mad scientist can steal children's dreams, clones vie to be the Original, and a muscle-bound, monosyllabic tough finds his heart of gold. The film is an experience - a convoluted and occasionally hard-to-follow one, and I can imagine some people finding this film to be a collection of gimmicks, but I found it compelling and interesting. Overall, Jeunet is a unique filmmaker, and good or bad, his films are always interesting.Jim H Super Reviewer
The City of Lost Children (La Cité des Enfants Perdus) Quotes
| Miette: | When you're born in the gutter you end up in the port. |
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