The City of Lost Children (La Cité des Enfants Perdus) (1995)
89%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: 5 wins & 14 nominations
Not all of its many intriguing ideas are developed, but The City of Lost Children is an engrossing, disturbing, profoundly memorable experience
The City of Lost Children is a wild ride through a steampunk wonderland that will leave you both delighted and confused. With its bizarre cast of characters and mind-bending plot, this movie is not for the faint of heart. But if you’re up for a cinematic adventure that will transport you to another world, then buckle up and get ready for a trip you won’t soon forget. Just don’t forget to bring your sense of humor and your willingness to suspend disbelief, because this movie is a trip and a half.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Plan B Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Studios 91 Arpajon, Saint-Germain-les-Arpajon, Essonne, France
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for disturbing and grotesque images of violence and menace
Year of Release
1995
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 51m
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Language(s):French, Cantonese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 1995 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 19, 1999
Genre(s)
Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Geneviève Brunet, directed by Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, Gilles Adrien, Guillaume Laurant, fantasy, R rating, box office gross $1.9M, reviewed by Isaac Feldberg, Michael Sragow, Jeff Shannon, Steven Rea, Jay Boyar, Jami Bernard, Malcolm Johnson, Michael Jaconelli, Tim Brayton, Nick Davis, Stephen Hunter, Roger Hurlburt, surreal, steam punk, circus, dreams, mad scientist, clones, muscle-bound, monosyllabic tough, dark vision, convoluted, gimmicks, interesting, disturbing, grotesque, imaginative, outstanding visuals, must-see, PG feel, Terry Gilliam films, humanness, child fantasy, macabre dystopia, warping, confounding narrative, Blade Runner, set design, state-of-the-art physical, optical, digital special effects, cinematic expressionism, allegorical depth, cinematic delight, tentacled comic-book plot, freak-show cast, narrow appeal, cohesion, accessibility
Worldwide gross: $1,781,465
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,503,001
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,277
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 382,007
US/Canada gross: $1,738,611
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,418,735
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,913
US/Canada opening weekend: $34,348
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $67,541
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,095
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $35,394,477
Production budget ranking: 1,051
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $19,059,926
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$50,951,402
ROI to date (est.): -94%
ROI ranking: 1,981
Daniel Emilfork – Krank
Judith Vittet – Miette
Dominique Pinon – le scaphandrier, les clones
Jean-Claude Dreyfus – Marcello
Geneviève Brunet – la Pieuvre
Director(s)
Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer(s)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, Gilles Adrien, Guillaume Laurant
Producer(s)
Félicie Dutertre
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 wins & 14 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (57) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (12)
Few films have captured the spirit of steampunk with as much peculiar daring and imagination.
November 29, 2021 | Rating: 10/10
Isaac Feldberg
Inverse
TOP CRITIC
Jeunet and Caro have distinctive signatures like nobody else’s.
November 20, 2013
Michael Sragow
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
On visual terms alone, The City of Lost Children is something of a masterpiece, using state-of-the-art physical, optical and digital special effects to stretch cinematic boundaries.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Essentially, The City of Lost Children is a macabre fairy tale, and while its tentacled comic-book plot and freak-show cast narrow its appeal — this isn’t a work of any allegorical depth — Caro and Jeunet have pulled off a cinematic delight.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
The City of Lost Children gets so caught up in its own weirdness that it all but shuts out the viewer.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 2/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
An empty triumph of overkill set design and weirdo casting.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 2/5
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Delivers a darkly pleasurable tour of its makers’ dark dreams.
April 9, 2018
Malcolm Johnson
Hartford Courant
A strange and inventive blend of fairy tale, dreams and steampunk stylings that doesn’t quite hold together but is nevertheless a treat to behold.
March 16, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Michael Jaconelli
The Skinny
It feels like concept art come to life.
May 17, 2015 | Rating: 7/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
City of Lost Children is unmistakably of its era: filled with oddball artifacts, and itself quite pointedly an oddball artifact, seeking approval on those very terms.
May 16, 2015 | Rating: B-
Nick Davis
Nick’s Flick Picks
The production values are extraordinary.
November 20, 2013 | Rating: 2.5/4
Stephen Hunter
Baltimore Sun
The City of Lost Children showcases dazzling art direction that takes cinematic expressionism to new heights.
November 20, 2013
Roger Hurlburt
South Florida Sun-Sentinel…
Plot
Set in a dystopian society, someone is kidnapping the children. Krank and his band of clones are using the children to harvest their dreams. Then they kidnap Denree, the brother of One, a fairground strongman. One sets out to find his brother.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for The City of Lost Children.
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