The City of Lost Children (La cité des enfants perdus) (Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995)
Imdb
Date Watched: 02/02/17
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 12th Hall of Fame, Clazor's Nomination
Rewatch: No
Well that was f*cking weird.
I knew as soon as I pressed play that this had to be from the same people who made
Delicatessen and
Mic Macs. I also knew that my experience with this movie would be much like my experiences with those other films: I would find the bizarre collection of characters (played by some really strange looking people) and bizarre situations novel and interesting enough to keep my attention but ultimately I would come away with no real desire to ever see it again.
In a lot of ways, these sorts of films remind me of the works of Wes Anderson - they look great - but the odd and awkward characters are a little off-putting and I struggle to connect. Unlike Anderson's films, though, I don't find the characters in
City of Lost Children or those other films to be annoying (I can't say the same for my experience with Jeunet's
Amélie, though it's been a very long time since I saw that) and there were some moments where despite their strangeness, they felt real. This was especially true of the interactions between One and Miette, but I still never developed much of an emotional connection with either of them.
Ultimately, my prediction was correct: It was entertaining, but I probably won't ever watch it again.
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