4 star restoration of a deeply surreal French Sci-fi classic.
The City of Lost Children is a French science fiction film originally released in 1995. Also known as La Cité des Enfants Perdus, it is written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro who created the 1991 cult hit Delicatessen.
This award winning film has enjoyed a 4K UHD restoration courtesy of Studio Canal and is available to own now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. It is presented in both French with English subtitles or with an English dub.
“Krank, come back. I had a thought last night. If these children only have nightmares, it’s perhaps because the evil is in you.”
The City of Lost Children tells us the story of Krank (Daniel Emilfork – Subversion, The Devil’s Nightmare), the result of a failed experiment carried out by the insane but genius Uncle Irvin (Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant – A Self Made Hero), who also happens to be a brain in a jar. They live aboard an oil rig, along with six not very bright clones (Dominique Pinon – Amelie, Delicatessen) and a dwarf named Martha (Mireille Mossé).
Krank is highly intelligent, but he is unable to dream, making him age at a much faster rate. To try and halt this process, he has children from the nearby city kidnapped by local thugs, the Cyclops. This is going well until they kidnap Denree (Joseph Lucien), who just happens to be the adopted brother of strong man One (Ron Perlman – Hellboy, Don’t Look Up).
One is less than happy about this and teams up with a group of local children, led by Miette (Judith Vittet) to try and find out what is going on and work out a way to save his brother.
“Take a break, no use wearing out your shoes. I know where the truck’s gone.”
The City of Lost Children is a brilliant film, truly surreal and absolutely French in every way. There is lots of very disturbing imagery, with nightmarish sequences and rather a lot of screaming. It’s certainly not for the faint hearted.
This 4K restoration brings the nightmare landscapes into beautiful and terrifying clarity and shows off the imaginative cinematography, gloriously strange storytelling and great acting to it’s fullest effect.
Not for everyone, but if you are a fan of the surreal you will certainly want to add this one to your collection.
“A midnight snack. For the fishes.”
The City of Lost Children is available now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.
| Director | Marc Caro |
| Genre | Drama, fantasy. sci-fi |
| Starring | Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon |
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