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Summary: strange
Review: The costumes, characters and strange sets are wonderful. It's very rich, visually, so if you are an artist you will probably appreciate it. The characters are also interesting and so is the story. It's very inspiring - i loved it.
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Summary: What a movie
Review: Ok look past the part that it is in subtitles. Now that your past the subtitles look past that it's french. If you can look past those two things you have a [heck] of a fantastic movie on your hands. The movie is creepy but tells a story unlike anyother. For people who enjoy fantasty with a twisted since of humor than I say give this movie a try . This is what I call a unique movie there will be some like it but in my mind no movie will ever be better than this movie.
Drew Jameson
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Summary: Beautifully Grotesque Humanity !
Review: Jeunet and Caro are at their best in that bleak world that looks like some Enki Bilal's comic book for children. Everything is dark, sombre, sad and torturous. Human beings are grotesque monsters without any soul and without any morality. This world is dominated by a Mad Scientist who has cloned everything into multiple copies and is trying to appropriate and possess children's dreams in his violently nightmarish mind. He captures and kidnaps children to plug them on his sarcophagi in order to predate and devour their minds. The world around is not better. It is a whole set of ignominous beings who exploit children in order to skim the world of all that can be stolen or borrowed for an unpredictable and unspecified length of time. The siamese sisters meet with an end that is the righteous peak of their career. The mad scientist vanishes into thin fire caused by multiple sticks of dynamite. The cloning of Father Christmas ad infinitum is funnier than the antics of some clown in a circus. The virtual adventures of the little girl are frightening and reassuring : there may be some good genius and nice wizard behind the wings of this crazy world. And it all ends well, though we had imagined a more dramatic and catastrophic closure of this vision of hell. Beware of the demented ship, the soulless Flying Dutchman that loses all sanity and runs into the setting. I particularly loved the predating perambulating insects who manage to travel at High Speed by using some mammals, including some humans, to transfer from one place to the next like a monstrous TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, pardon me for my French). This film is not to be shown to fragile minds, particularly adults who think the world is beautiful and hope life remains that way, but to be entrusted to children who want to have dynamic dreams that give them very strong and intense emotions.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
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Summary: a dream a nightmare a fantasy a masterpiece
Review: This movie is film making at its best. The cinematography is mind-blowing and the costumes, music and acting was well thought through. All the characters even the extras were awesome. Dominique Pinon as the clones was a hilarious and likable character, and Judith Vittet as Miete was an absolute doll. Ron Perlman was good as a strong but somewhat dumb circus performer. This movie's highlights were the special effects and scenery. They were excellent. This film put me through a different feeling as i watched it and i immediatly became addicted. It is a wonderful piece of art that belittles those dumb poorly acted teen movies and boring romantic comedies that you see in the movies and on television day by day. The City of Lost Children gave me a reason to appreciate the art of movie making again. I thank Jeunet and Caro and everyone who was involved in the film for making something beautiful and worth watching.
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Summary: Something different, but in a reaaally good way
Review: If you like traditional Bad Boys II kinds of movies, with simple to follow, slam-bam action, you probably won't dig City of Lost Children. However, if you have an appreciation for unique cinematic style and stories that stray from the norm (and I really mean stray), this is probably going to float your boat. The story is as follows, (I swear I'm not giving anything away either)...a circus strongman and an orphan girl team up to rescue a young boy who's been kidnapped by this futuristic religious cult called the Cyclops. They've intentionally blinded themselves and attached cyborg-like eye cameras so that they may "see God" better. The Cyclops regularly kidnap children and take them to an evil madman whose accomplices include a 3 foot tall woman, 4 cloned dimwitted servants and a talking brain. (You heard me right.) The evil madman tries to tap into these children's dreams so that he may try and gain a soul. Ok, if you're still reading this, clearly your intrigued. It's hard to describe the look and feel of this movie. It's got a little of everything, sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and comedy. It's dark and light at the same time. Sci-fi action enthusiasts should know that this really doesn't have a lot of action, so don't expect gunplay and martial arts, it's just not that type of movie. The real reason to see this movie is for the cinematic style and visuals. Word to the wise, the only similarity between this and Amelie are these two reasons. Amelie is a much lighter feeling movie overall, so there are bound to be a few people who loved Amelie, but do not like City of Lost Children and perhaps vice versa. (And you will notice some of the same actors in both movies as well.) In the end, I found the movie to be a delightful change from the norm, with a storyline that seemed both fairy-tale like and surreal and characters that you truly enjoyed watching as much for their acting abilities as for the fact that Jeunet has a knack for casting some of the most visually captivating actors I've seen. If you're not sure you'll like it, try to find the preview online, it really captures the essence of the movie.
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Summary: Who will take your dreams away?
Review: THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN is a fantastic film from visionary directors Caro and Jeunet. Later Jeunet would helm ALIEN RESURRECTION, and they created the fantastic DELICATESSEN. But here is one of their most beloved creations in all its glory! The story centers around a mythical town where small children are being kidnapped by a gang of strange cyclops men with electronic eyes. They are taken to an evil scientist named Krank who is trying to mine their dreams so he can have emotions that make him happy. A small orphan and a circus strongman team up to find the children, and one overly hungry one in particular. Along the way their adventures are painted in big splashy set pieces populated with oddball characters that loom larger than life. The DVD gives you incredible choices! See it in widescreen, dubbed or French, or listen to the revealing commentary with American star Ron Perlman and Jeunet. Fans of BRAZIL and DARK CITY will be delighted. And David Lynch fans may recognize the moody score from Angelo Badalementi. Fashionistas can revel in the incredible costumes from Gaultier!
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Summary: Deliciously wacked Baroque Adult Fantasy
Review: From the opening frames of a little boy's Christmas eve dream turned nightmare, this remarkable film by Jeunet and Caro (Delicatessen) is a singular cinematic achievement. This comictragic nightmare boasts some of the most extensive sets ever constructed (the entire city was built in a huge warehouse)and elaborate special effects that were so cutting edge they still boggle the senses today. For those who care, there is a plot, in fact quite an elaborate storyline, but it 's really just a vehicle for a series of amazingly bizarre and visionary scenes that only Jeunet and Caro could come up with. Part Grimms fairytale, part Phillip k Dickian sci fi tale, part Cocteau vision, City of Lost Children is like nothing you have ever seen. The DVD is the only way to see this film. Because of the muted look (the film seems to take place in a perpetual twilight) the film looks grainy and indistinct in VHS. The DVD boasts a fine transfer and, as a bonus, an interesting commentary by Jeunet and actor Ron Perlman . The score is lush and haunting, a great enhancement to a unique and in its own way, perfect film.
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Summary: Weird, beautiful, and fantastic
Review: A great fairy tale movie for adults that won't disappoint. I can watch this over and over again and never get tired. The cinematography is so beautiful and so well done, that I can find new things in the background each time I watch it. It's not really a movie for children, but not because it's violent. There are some parts that may disturb children, but the main reason I don't recommend it for them is because it will fly right over their heads. But if you like really bizarre movies that tell really good stories while being bizarre, then this one is for you.
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Summary: From the Director of AMELIE
Review: This movie is a fairytail about a little girl and a strong man trying to find a little boy. Just like in Amelie the character all have their own unique characteristics. Many of the actors from Amelie are in this movie as well. If you haven't seen AMELIE you have to, it is incredible. Will special effects and a unique style, this movie is one of my favorates. Other movies to See - Any thing directed by Juene (not sure on spelling, but she directed this movie and Amelie)
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Summary: DVD Region Compatability
Review: this is not a review on the movie, but a review on this version of the DVD...
I purchased this region 1 version because it has two different screen ratios (4:3 and 1.85:1) on opposite sides of the DVD. It also has dubbed English and original French audio which was not available on the region 4 (Australian) version in my own country. I particularly wanted this version so I could choose how I wanted to play it as I do with other DVDs.
I was warned when placing my order that this version would not play on many multi-region players due to new copy protection schemes, however I found that I had no problem running it on our two stand alone multi region DVD players (OMNI SL-P3102S and Diamond DVD-101D), and also a Lite-On PC DVD drive which was region patched in firmware and software. The DVD would not play on an unmodified region 4 Playstation 2.
As for the movie, what more can I say... it's a cult classic and I enjoyed listening to the directors commentary for the first time. I look forward to playing it many more times in different formats, with the freedom of selecting screen ratio and audio options of MY choice.
Definately worth the extra $$$ to buy from overseas if you liked the movie in French the first time but wanted to watch the movie rather than read the subtitles.
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