The City of Lost Children
| Company type | Film |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion picture |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Gilles Adrien (screenplay co-author) |
| Products | Science fantasy motion picture |
The City of Lost Children () is a 1995 French-language science fantasy motion picture directed by Marc Caro and Jean‑Pierre Jeunet, with a screenplay co-authored by Gilles Adrien. This France-Spain-Germany collaboration centers on Krank, a deranged scientist who abducts children from a coastal city to extract their dreams, as he himself is incapable of dreaming. When Denrée, the younger sibling of carnival strongman One (Ron Perlman), is taken, One joins forces with the orphan Miette (Judith Vittet) to rescue Denrée and challenge Krank’s creations.
The film boasts a distinctive production design by Darius Khondji, costumes crafted by Jean Paul Gaultier, and a musical score composed by Angelo Badalamenti. Debuting at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, it stands out as a visually imaginative example of European steampunk cinema. Although it received generally positive critical feedback, it did not recoup its $18 million budget at the box office, earning $11 million, yet it has since achieved cult classic status.
Plot
Krank (Daniel Emilfork), an exceptionally intelligent yet malevolent entity engineered by a now-absent scientist, suffers from premature aging due to his inability to dream. Residing on an abandoned oil rig alongside six childlike clones, a dwarf named Martha, and Irvin—a brain preserved in a vat—he employs a device that extracts dreams from kidnapped children. These abductions are carried out by the Cyclops, a cyborg cult equipped with mechanical eyes and ears supplied by Krank. Among those taken is Denrée (Joseph Lucien), the adopted younger brother of the carnival strongman One (Ron Perlman).
Following the stabbing of the carnival manager, One is recruited by an orphan gang led by conjoined twins known as "the Octopus" to steal a safe. The heist succeeds; however, One loses track of the safe when distracted by Denrée’s captors. One teams up with Miette (Judith Vittet), one of the orphans, to infiltrate the Cyclops’ headquarters but they are apprehended and sentenced to death. Meanwhile, the Octopus commands circus performer Marcello (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) to rescue One. Marcello uses trained fleas that inject a poison inducing aggression to incite conflict among the Cyclops guards, enabling One’s escape. After falling into the harbor, Miette is saved by an amnesiac diver who lives beneath the water’s surface.
Miette locates One and Marcello drowning their frustrations in a bar. Upon seeing her alive, Marcello permits One to leave with her. The Octopus confronts them at the pier and employs Marcello’s fleas to manipulate One against Miette. Before One can harm her, Miette’s tear triggers a chain reaction causing a ship to collide with the pier. Marcello then unleashes the fleas on the Octopus, allowing One and Miette to flee and continue their search for Denrée.
Back on Krank’s rig, Irvin deceives one clone into sending out a bottled dream message seeking help addressed to One, Miette, and the diver—who gradually recalls he was their creator. Krank and Martha had previously attacked him and seized control of his laboratory on the rig, leaving him for dead. The diver aims to destroy the rig while One and Miette focus on rescuing Denrée.
Martha almost kills Miette but is harpooned by the diver, who feigns an "allergy to iron." Miette discovers Denrée asleep within Krank’s dream-extracting apparatus; Irvin informs her that she must enter Denrée’s dream herself in order to liberate him. Within this dream realm, she negotiates with Krank to take Denrée’s place as the source of dreams. Although Krank suspects deception, he plays along. Using her creativity, Miette traps Krank in an endless loop that shatters his mind. One and Miette free all captive children while the deranged diver sets explosives throughout the rig and secures himself to it. As they row away, he implores for his creations’ return before a seabird triggers the explosion, annihilating both him and the rig.
Cast
- Ron Perlman portrays One
- Judith Vittet plays Miette (known as Crumb in the French version)
- Daniel Emilfork appears as Krank (referred to as Sick in German)
- Joseph Lucien takes on the role of Denree
- Dominique Pinon features as both the diver and the clones
- Geneviève Brunet and Odile Mallet represent the Octopus
- Jean-Claude Dreyfus acts as Marcello
- Jean-Louis Trintignant provides the voice for Uncle Irvin
- Mireille Mossé embodies Martha
- Rufus is cast as Peeler
- Serge Merlin plays Gabriel Marie, leader of the Cyclops
- Marc Caro appears as Frère Ange-Joseph
- Ticky Holgado portrays a former acrobat
- François Hadji-Lazaro acts as Killer
- Dominique Bettenfeld takes on the role of Bogdan
- Lotfi Yahya Jedidi appears as Melchior
- Thierry Gibault plays Brutus
- Christophe Salengro is cast as a soldier
- Lorella Cravotta features as a woman at her window
- Mathieu Kassovitz appears as a man on the street
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80%, based on 59 critiques, with an average score of 7.4 out of 10. The critical consensus remarks that although not all intriguing concepts are fully explored, The City of Lost Children delivers a captivating, unsettling, and deeply memorable cinematic experience. Additionally, it has earned a weighted average score of 73 on Metacritic, signifying "generally favorable reviews." Renowned critic Roger Ebert granted it 3 stars out of 4, commending its artistic design and visual effects while acknowledging occasional narrative complexity.
From a commercial standpoint, the movie amassed $7 million in France, $1 million in Spain, and $600,000 in Germany. In North America, its earnings reached $1.7 million. Factoring in box office returns from the United Kingdom (£401,523) and Australia, total worldwide gross surpassed $11 million.
Interpretation
Jen Webb and Tony Schirato emphasize that the film centrally explores capitalism’s contradictory nature as a source of tension:
Donna Wilkerson-Barker highlights how these themes are expressed through interpersonal dynamics. For example, Miette perceives the relationship between One and Denrée as a genuine familial bond, which drives her efforts to free Denrée from Krank's domination. Likewise, Irvin endeavors to emancipate his clone "family" by overthrowing their oppressive environment. Ultimately, two boats serve as metaphors for divergent futures: one carrying Irvin and his clones, and the other holding Miette, One, and the liberated children—raising profound questions about humanity’s trajectory.
Acknowledged within the steampunk genre, The City of Lost Children deliberately evokes a romanticized past that never truly existed.