Jun. 30, 2002 - 3:35 am
a.k.a. The City of Lost Children. i don't know why, but i wasn't expecting it to be this good. but i mean it is directed by Jeunet and Caro after all. well, i'll admit i didn't like Delicatessen (1991) too much. but Jeunet did make Le Fabuleux destin d'Am�lie Poulain (2001). and if you don't like that movie you're a moron. i'm sorry.
i think when you see the cover to a movie hundreds of times and you never actually see a trailer or the film itself, you start to develop an entire plot for yourself based on just the cover. and that was what i had been doing, and my plot sucked. can anyone else identify with this? or am i insane?
so i decided against reading more Cold Mountain tonight and turned to this film instead. one of my weekend 5 checked out from the library. and i was so glad i did. it's an amazing film and it's something i could never make myself. it's so creative and beautiful. and it has what i would call magic. and that makes it a 9/10. so close to perfect you can taste it.
what's the movie about you ask? well it's a French art film with a lot of insanity. if that turns you off, you'll disagree with my rating. i don't mean insane people necessarily, but the plot is just very "different." it's a fantasy world where there are these mad scientist people trying to steal children's dreams. in order to do that they have to kidnap children. one night they kidnap a little boy who is being taken care of by One, a strongman in a circus. he calls the boy his "petit frere" or little brother. he tries and tries to find him, but has no luck until he falls in with some children who steal jewelry. the leader of the gang, 9-year-old Miette, begins to find that her hostile way of dealing with the world isn't always so necessary. sometimes you have to have a heart about things, and she and One attempt to rescue the lost children.
this is probably the best Ron Perlman film i've ever seen. yes, his French is fairly terrible, but it works for his character, One, who doesn't have the quickest wit to begin with. the chemistry between him and Judith Vittet (Miette) really made the film for me. she's an amazing actress. and, quoting another film, "we shall watch your career with great interest."
great acting, story, direction, cinematography. i love the consistent use of the fish-eye lens. you don't find that used well very often. but they do it. always well. visually it's just a beautiful film. and whenever you get French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier on the set with costumes, you're ahead of the game.