Cult 101: The City of Lost Children (1995)
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro Run Time: 112 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1995
Starring: Daniel Emilfork, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Judith Vittet, Ron Perlman
Country: France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, United States
Language: French, Cantonese
Cult 101 at Gateway Film Center
A celebration of the best cult films of all time.
See more Cult 101About the film:
An elaborately detailed universe of fantasy with eye-popping sets, ingenious special effects, Jean-Paul Gaultier costumes, and a must-be-seen-to-be-believed cast of characters. The City of Lost Children (1995) delves deep into the subconscious realm of children’s imaginations, and – most importantly – their dreams. The film harks back to traditional fairy tales, staying true to those traditions by delving into wild, sometimes dark and scary, flights of fancy…some of which speak to adults as much as, if not more than, children.
Krank, a tormented scientist, sets about kidnapping local children in order to steal their dreams and reverse his accelerated aging process. After Krank’s henchmen kidnap his brother, local fisherman and former circus strongman One (Ron Perlman) sets out on a journey to Krank’s nightmarish laboratory, accompanied by a little orphan girl called Miette.
This unique and visually stunning story from Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amelie (2001) and Alien: Resurrection (1997), was selected as the opening film at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.
About the filmmakers:
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro are French filmmakers and longtime collaborators who combine fantasy, realism and science fiction to create idealized realities or to give relevance to mundane situations. They burst to the forefront of world cinema with their visually arresting dark comedy Delicatessen (1991), which won them awards at Chicago International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, and Sitges Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Debut and Best Writing at the 17th César Awards. They followed up with another elaborately detailed universe of fantasy, The City of Lost Children (1995). Jeunet also directed Alien: Resurrection (1997), with Caro serving as Design Supervisor, and the Academy Award-nominated film Amelie (2001).
See our upcoming films