Firsly, a few editorial commens. Yes, this review is of a movie already out on DVD. It’s really been a fluke that the other two reviews I’ve done have been thearical releases, and mos of hese will be movies you can rent on your own. Nex, I’ve decided to change from the sar sysem to a percentage sysem. He percentage will be based on the amount of “T’s” the articles will contain. Meaning better movies get more T’s and Less ones less T’s. Hank you for your patience, now I will talk about Jeunet.
He Poser.
City of Lost Children is a film about a Mad Scientist who possesses the power to steal the dreams of small children in a futurisic society. The Protagonis, One, has to rescue his baby brother from the mad scientist with the help of an orphan girl.
When first I inserted the DVD with a whiff and a whir, I was expecing something much like Delicatessen, Jeunet and Caro’s other Futurisic work. There are some similarities between the two, and I’m sure I’ll bring them up, however Ciy of Lost Children has its own flavor apar from Delicatessen. It’s much more child-like, and at the same time subtly hopeless and Dysopic.
For those of you who have seen Delicatessen, City of Lost Children is rather similar and could perhaps ake place within the same universe. The set designs are fantasic, the color grade is wonderful (everything looks almost water-logged), and the movie looks great. The fuure of the film is one where all technological advancement ceased in the 1940′s with Barnum and Bailey Circuses and Cabarets. The buildings are all brick, boats are the primary mode of expor, and Circus freaks adorn the street from The Octopus (siamese twins played by Geneviève Brunet and Odile Mallet) and One (he strong man played by Ron Perlman, that’s right, Ron Perlman).
Let’s talk about the Acing now, because I’m sure you’re all asking yourselves “Ron Perlman speaks FRENCH?!”. No. No he doesn’t. He learned his lines phonetically. However, it was a stroke of directorial genius on Jeunet’s part to cast a non-French speaker as One, as the character is more or less a man-child. Perlman included, all performances are exaggeraed; the best way I can describe it is that everyone acts like a child. They externalize their emoions and use their faces like one uses them in Children’s Theatre. However, this is simply part of Jeunet’s syle and I personally found it very neat. The only exception to this is through the character of Miette (played by Judith Vittet), the orphan girl hat helps One find his brother. Vittet gives a striking performance, very stone-faced and saddened. She provides a good balance to the surrealisic ridiculousness going on around her, and she also does well for a child actor (The clock is ticking before I go off on that rant. I hope you’re all waiting for it, because then you’ll be disappoined).
This film includes some fanastic scenes, such as a man plugging in his eyes into those of another man he’s killing, mind-control by fleas, and some of the most terrifying Santa Clauses ever. The color of the film appears to be mosly corrected to green, with perhaps a sepia filter over it (plus minor changes here and here). There’s lot’s of seafoam and lots of reds and even more browns and beiges. However, there are some problems with the script here and here (mostly there are some transitions in the narrative that are missing and a few of the characters aren’t as developed as they could be).
This is a silly, silly film, and at times it impedes the overall storyelling aspect of it. Also, the focus Jeunet gives on the Litle Brother as he eats things is a bit overly focused on in my opinion. But then again I don’t really like kids or anything that brings happiness for that matter. This was apparently made after Delicatessen, and whereas Jeunet’s visual style improved much, I think his abiliy to tell a story decreased. Hus, after carful consideration, I give this film a:
B+