The City of Lost Children is a French film directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, made in 1995. The film is set in a supposedly, post-apocalyptic, surrealist society. A scientist kidnaps children in order to steal their dreams as he cannot have any of his own. This has resulted in him ageing too quickly and in order to save his own life he relies on finding a child that can help him experience any kind of positive dream.
Early on in the film a strong man in a freak show loses his little brother when the scientist sends “the Cyclops” to collect some children to sample their dreams. These characters are a kind of religious cult who have decided to blind themselves to the world in order to hide them selves from its sinfulness. They rely on a mechanical eye to see in a more sterile manner. The strong man (who is simply called One) is played by Ron Pearlman. His character is an ex-sailor who speaks French very crudely, in the same stereotypical way that The Hulk breaks his sentences. One is joined by a young orphan called Miette, a character who has very many similarities to Little-Red Riding Hood or Alice from Alice In Wonderland.
Many of the characters in the film borrow from the kind of fairy tale mentality of a child but the surrounding world seems corrupt and polluted: Riveted surfaces, dirty sewers and an oil rig are the main settings for the film. This juxtaposition works wonderfully and along with using a striking colour palette this suggests a completely alternate universe for you to explore. Interestingly, the main theme of the film is dreams and nightmares and the world seems very much like a twisted, nightmarish version of what it is supposed to be. I think that the best way to describe the experience would be like watching a cruel world through the eyes of an innocent child.
There are many references within the script to things such as “The Big Bad Wolf” and “The Sandman” and the characters themselves also fit very familiar roles to the ones that you may have heard in children’s stories. For example:
The Uncle (literally a brain on life support) is the intelligence figure. He represents logic and science. He is also the sandman character in the film and at times seems to act as a conscience for the scientist.
The evil twin sisters who run the orphanage speak at exactly the same time and are effectively one person (although you could dispute this as they fight later in the film).
One, the strong man, is a physically powerful character with very little brains but a big heart.
Miette represents the innocence of children and is the only character in the film that is not filthy or grotesque to look at.
The orphans are effectively thieves, much like in Oliver Twist.
The four brothers are clones, and they all act the same also but they all battle for individuality and want desperately to be the original.
There are other characters which borrow from other stories or history also. The Cyclops seem to believe that they are a master race and want to convert all to their cause. This is very reminiscent of both a negative view to evangelical religion and historical dictatorship such as the Nazi movement. The cult leader is heard to say that “only through the third eye will you truly see” which is an idea taken from eastern religion. It is quite clear that the writer Jeunet has a very negative view of religion and the corruption it can bring. From the outside the Cyclops appear grotesque and rather than becoming less evil they appear to hide from evil by removing their ability to perceive it. Maybe Jeunet was making a comment about the hypocritical nature of religion: he may believe that religion is not a solution to the problem of the world but that it is just a way of deceiving oneself and closing ones eyes to the corruption and suffering.
On the other hand, some of the Cyclops allow themselves to be able to hear or see with a greater sensitivity than before. At a stretch, this could be just a way of showing how easily offended religious types can be. The slightest noise startles them are causes an uproar. However I am just reading into the matter quite deeply.
The relationship between One and Miette is actually quite a disturbing one. It appears at first to simply be one of a brother and sister and it is often referred to as that, but the appearance of it is that there is something more sexual to it than that. There are many hints at this in the film even to the extent that they have what could be interpreted as a consummation scene in which they are both lying next to each other. Of course this is very metaphorical if my argument is correct. Furthermore, to develop this idea there is a scene in which Miette asks One if he will ever find a woman and he seems to say “there is no hurry to find a woman”. Again this could be interpreted that he would wait for her to grow older before initiating a relationship with her. These are quite hidden themes and maybe they are there just to get the viewer thinking or on their toes when identifying what these people are really like. Against all of this is the fact that they call each other brother and sister so I may be completely incorrect.
The colours in the film range from being Christmas themed (which again seems to represent the warm innocent dream world) to industrial browns, greys and toxic greens. Miette carries the same colours as the dream world which is again a directorial trick to show her innocence visually. In the dreams, Santa is present but the dreams quickly turn to nightmares. The Scientist dresses up as Santa later on and terrifies the children corrupting that dream and becoming their nightmare.
Overall the film was a very strange experience, but one that the viewer can get drawn into very easily. All aspects of the film work together effectively, which actually makes this strange world quite believable: The fantastical technology that looks old fashioned, the polluted world and the wonderfully strong characters all work together to create a picture that is disturbing yet familiar.
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