Load of rubbish!!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

this movie succeeds in the most difficult artistic field: inventing a world. Most of the times, when authors try it, we stumble always on Middle-earth... But here, it's really an original place, between Brazil and Peter Pan… This city looks like a foggy Montmartre at sea and the visual impact is wonderful: the cast has a jewel with the girl playing Miette: she acts like a pro while she is a kid. Maybe her friendship with this big dumb guy could be commented but this exploited kid as a thief and later dreams maker is thrilling and for sure, everything is sublimated by the wonderful sad, melancholic haunting score of Badalamenti as well as his song with Faithful! So it's a real masterwork of french imagination, worthy of Melies and sadly not praised enough in my country!

Step right this way into the nightmare/fantasy world of this truly bizarre, freaky and phenomenally weird tale that comes at you straight from hell.Very quirky and curious, The City Of Lost Children (TCOLC) is definitely something of an original (it's actually hard to believe this is even possible in this "been there/seen that" age of filmdom that we live in these days).You can be sure that this is one far-out fairy tale that you'll never, ever see coming to you from the likes of Disney Studios.This undoubtedly strange, and, yes, unsettling little tale is sure to leave quite a lasting impression on the viewer long after the closing credits have rolled on by.Directed with a truly astonishing visual flair, TCOLC puts a unique, new twist (that's very dark and surreal) on the familiar "Mad Scientist" theme. (This is the sort of twisted twist that seems to work its magic about 75% of the time) Set in an awesome "otherworld" of shadows and light, TCOLC's story revolves around the doings of Dr. Krank (a total mad scientist, if you've ever seen one) who has his team of cloned henchmen abduct the young children of the city whom he wants for his experiments.Using a most unusual contraption, Krank (who is aging prematurely) then attempts to steal the dreams of these innocent babes because he, himself, cannot dream.This is one of those films where trying to go into any great detail about its story would only be an utter waste of time. You really need to see TCOLC for yourself to fully appreciate it for the richness of vision that it has to offer.On the down side - 2 of TCOLC's drawbacks were that its story has a tendency to be quite uneven at times and actor Ron Perlman (whom I do not like) has a substantial role in the scheme of things.These 2 deficits are actually quite minor, though, in comparison to the up-side of this mighty weird and entertaining gem.

This makes Delicatassen - from the same writing-directing team - seem like Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm. It's been heavily reviewed on IMDb, well over one hundred posts and all those I read were favorable in the extreme. Alas, it didn't do anything for me but then grotesque fantasy isn't my thing and Jeunet and Caro clearly 'speak' to a lot of people. If you're prepared to put the hours in there's probably a plot of sorts to be unravelled but you need to suspend disbelief on Industrial strength. There is no suggestion from beginning to end of anything remotely resembling life as we know it and/or a recognizable landscape. The main setting appears to be something akin to a North Sea oil rig peopled by fugitives from the Weimar Republic crossed with the Stasi from post-war East Germany crossed with Cyborgs from Star Trek. Apparently the Head honcho is unable to dream for himself so his solution is to kidnap children and snatch their dreams. One muscle-bound circus strong man takes objection when his brother is a victim and goes in pursuit, picking up along the way a street-wise girl lately in the employ of a couple of Siamese Twin Fagins. Dominic Pinon, who is a regular in Jeunet movies, is on hand again. Weird? Check. Wacky? Check. Wonderful? Ah, there you have me.

Many disagree with the previous reviewer.Not sure what the last reviewer watched, but City of lost Children is amazing cinema from the sets, color, acting, lighting, plot, it had everything pushed to the Nth from what I experienced. It is NOT a typical American style movie. It is French and luckily, they are allowed to have an alternate path to interesting movie making.This guy Jeunet puts a LOT into all of his productions. Almost a mentally overwhelming amount of style, info and actions (not action packed, but activities that go on in or behind the scene). He also did Amelie which is just as astounding and one of the best films ever made. Watch it start to finish if you don't believe that.The City of Lost Childen extends its name sake across many peoples from the twisted characters that are adults and act like the children they never were, to the children who are lost from being children and must be adults. Not to mention the abductions and the reason for that. So it is a win on many levels. One of the best, and I am so grateful I happened across this bazaar gem of a flick.Wish more movies were as intricately entertaining as this art piece is.