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'The City of Lost Children'-- The Forgotten Classic.

On a mist-shrouded rig in the sea, beyond an old minefield, a mad scientist ages prematurely because he lacks one vital function: the ability to dream. And so he kidnaps children to steal their happy dreams from them...

By Angelo M. RochaPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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French Title: La Cité des enfants perdus 

"The City of Lost Children" has been recognized, the world over, as one of the greatest films ever made. Not that year, or that decade, or that genre, it's literally one of the greatest EVER. The movie was an expensive, high-tech French production, using more special effects than any other French film in history. It also happened to be a huge flop, at the time, for the studio. With the film only making only 1.7 million dollars compared to its 18 million dollar budget. But... It has since become a bonafide cult classic among some of the best. It's truly a huge surprise to know that many Americans have never even heard of or even seen it.

The surreal, dark, jam packed, and steam-punkish film is reminiscent and akin to Terry Gilliam's visionary works of art. It's a film heavily inspired by many different genres and films. All of them melted together and then hand-rolled into the 'Masterpiece' of cinema, we know today. With vibes emanating from such classics as 'Blade Runner', 'Brazil', 'Akira', 'Dark City', 'Pinocchio', 'Frankenstein', and even 'Peter Pan'. The underrated and underappreciated nature of this foreign film has lead me to write this piece.

First off, let me get this out of the way... I highly HIGHLY recommend you immediately rent, buy, download, burn, copy, steal, highjack, kidnap, pilfer, loot, and/or acquire it for your viewing pleasure, BUT legally of course.

Anyway, let me tell you a little about why I love it. Enjoy!...

I was 14 years old when the 1995 sci-fi fantasy French film La Cité des enfants perdus came out. Back then, Blockbuster was practically non-existent in my New Jersey home town. But there was one small family-owned video store that everyone went to. The clerk/owner was a heavy-smoking old man who looked like Kevin McCarthy from the 1980's 'Twilight Zone movie'. He would let you rent the VHS tapes for a day or two but you had to sign for them on paper, back in the day. If your movie was late, not returned, or rewinded, he would call and hound you like a mafia henchman or debt collector, until you you got back on his good customer list. It wasn't the biggest video store in the world, but to me, it was dreamland. It had all the different sections and categories of movies... Horror, action, drama, kids, etc... and it even had an adult section.

What Video Stores Used to look like before Streaming Services like Netflix and Redbox

Anyway, in 1994, they added a Foreign films section. The foreign rack had many classics but one movie box stood out. It was one with of an odd-looking old man wearing a strange device on his head. (SEE COVER PHOTO) The movie was called, "The City of Lost Children" and I had no clue what it was about. But I rented it anyway.

I was instantly captivated, mortified, entranced, and in love with it. It was a mind-blowing spectacle. It was a revelation that left an immense impact on me for decades to come. The same way 'Star Wars' left impressions on others as well. I told my whole family about it. So, my entire family sat down, watched it, and fell in love with it as well. My little sister, to this day, if you ask her what her favorite movie of all time is, she'll quickly reply,' City of Lost Children.' I have even shown it to my teenage daughters and they too love it. It still holds up very well, to this day.

Yes... It was a French film. Yes... it was badly subtitled. But luckily I happened to speak French and the movie was able to imaginatively transport me to another world, in such a way that I never thought was possible. Don't get me wrong, other movies have done the same thing to me, but this one, in particular, stuck with me, all the way to present day.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet ended up Co-directing 'The City of Lost Children' with Marc Caro, a well known lover and fan of Uber-famous French Novelist 'Jules Verne'. Their vision for the film had the cast and crew do things never before or never done in a long time 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.

Starring Ron Francis Perlman, who was already internationally known for playing 'Vincent' in 1987's 'Beauty and the Beast' (Side note photo below)

Before the behemoth known as 'Game of Thrones' and 'A Song of Ice and Fire', little known author George R.R. Martin (Center) was a writer and producer, and even an actor on 'Beauty and the Beast' .

Continuing on, Ron Perlman is famously known best for playing the Better "Hellboy" (No disrespect to David Harbour). But in 'The City of Lost Children" Perlman plays a carnival sideshow strongman and main character called simply " ONE". His character doesn't say much because Ron didn't speak French and was the only American on set. But he learned all of his lines, and delivered them without error.

The other main character is 'Miette' played to perfection by Judith Vittet.

Judith Vittet (left) as Miette in 1994 and what she currently looks like presently.

The whole film's emotional center revolves around the relationship between 'One' and 'Miette', which is nurtured with care and gives the viewer genuine feeling of happiness. Especially the scene when the 'Flea' bites One and makes him go mad. Miette's tear drop sets off one of the most incredible chain of events EVER seen of film.

We are introduced to the brilliant-yet-warped mad scientist 'Krank' played with menacing excellence by Daniel Emilfork...

Sadly died on October 17, 2006 in Paris, France

'Krank' is aging prematurely, at an accelerated rate, due to the fact that he can no longer dream. So, in an effort to stay alive, he has begun capturing children from a nearby port city to try and steal their dreams. He uses a cult of Cyborgs called 'Cyclops' to find and kidnap lost children. Krank exchanges mechanical eyes and ears with the Cyclops for the children. He is successful but only problem is he is only able to capture nightmares from those children.

All is going as planned when the Cyclops mistakenly decide to kidnap the a little boy named 'Denree'. Who happens to be the adopted little brother of 'One' the strongman.

Dominique Pinon is spectacular as Krank’s clones, ( Pinon was in Jeunut's Alien: Resurrection as well.) the amount of characters he portrays is a sight to behold. His diver character with amnesia is amazing.

'Miette' and a group of orphans provide stolen goods to a pair of malignant conjoined twins whom they nicknamed 'The Octopus' played by Geneviève Brunet and Odile Mallet. Their wicked intentions are apparent especially when they talk and move their hands in unison, except when they argue.

Marcello, The Flea trainer, yes, I said Flea, is played by Jean-Claude Dreyfus. He uses trained and intelligent fleas to inject his victims with a serum that turns them into homicidal maniacs. Marcello helps the twins at first, but has repents later on after seeing the error of his ways.

"The City of Lost Children" has so much incredible imagine embedded into into scene. The creepy and mesmerizing music and soundtrack are superb. The action sequences are top notch.

I don't want to completely ruin the movie for you. But the film is perfect from start to finish. Critics, at the time, didn't understand it or they couldn't comprehend, what the film meant. The point was that the directors wanted you to go on a crazy wild journey through the mind of two Frenchmen. (Jeunet & Caro)

Deep down the film is twisted and strange take on a family movie, a love story but not in the traditional way. It's one that involves people that are needing to be loved.

I hope you take the love I have for "The City Lost Children" and follow through on taking my recommendation. You won't regret it.

Thanks for reading!

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About the Creator

Angelo M. Rocha

I'm a 41 year old Screenwriter, Author, and Producer. I'm currently writing for and executive-producing an upcoming multi-genre TV show. I don't usually like to be in the spotlight, So I normally use pseudonym for many of my works.

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