The City of Lost Children - Steampunk Madness

Voilà! Today’s topic is a very strange movie. The City of Lost Children (La Cité des Enfants Perdus, 1995) introduces us to a place where everyone is an orphan, a freakish mutant or a Gestapo officer. So, take a deep breath.

I wonder what's for dinner.

The movie is set in a dark steampunk world, where a mad scientist named Krank (German for sick) has created an apparatus to steal people's dreams in order to fill his own dreamless nights with meaning. Unfortunately for him, the stolen dreams turn into nightmares, and a migraine ridden brain in a water tank advises him to analyze his tears to find out what is wrong with him apart from the obvious fact that he converses with a migraine ridden brain in a water tank. Unable to find a solution to his problem, his dwarfish minions despatch fat-faced, Gestapo-like cronies to kidnap children for him in the sole hope to find a naive subject whose dreams will stay nice and pure, even after being kidnapped.

 

A fool's quest

Ron Perlman, the redheaded giant whom some may know from the movie adaptation of Umberto Eco’s The Name of The Rose, or otherwise as Hellboy, makes an appearance as a kind-hearted fool called One. As he witnesses Krank’s men deporting his little brother, he starts a desperate search during which he stumbles upon a thieves’ guild consisting of orphans and two twisted witches who appear to be conjoined twins.

This picture says it all: This movie indulges in its own weirdness.

As you might imagine, the movie is not entirely devoid of humour, but it mostly relies on the utter strangeness of the characters and environment. The shots are incredibly beautiful and very atmospheric, a melancholic, sepia-toned world, populated with freaks. Daniel Emilfork, who plays Krank, showcases a great variation of facial “expressionism”, shifting from child-like innocence to desperation and greed.

The movie’s plot is not incredibly demanding and clearly relies on the viewer’s willingness to get immersed in its deeply atmospheric and grotesquely humorous universe. The only sane-minded people in this corrupted city seem to be the children. Miette (Judith Vittet), who agrees to help One in his quest, is particularly sarcastic, which makes the movie all the more enjoyable.

Odd couple: Miette and One.

Is The City of Lost Children worth watching? It depends. As mentioned before, the movie demands a certain attitude and open-mindedness from the viewer. Many scenes have a twisted beauty to them, comparable to Dellamorte, Dellamore (1994). I recommend this highly aesthetical movie to anyone who wants to experience something out of the ordinary. 

 

Trailer.