City of Lost Children

If you’ve ever seen the movie City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus, 1995), you know that I’m talking about yet another surrealist dystopian nightmare, much like Delicatessen (which is basically by the same crew) or a Terry Gilliam film (such as Brazil or The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen, as well as some odd similarities with Jellowbeard), or even a Wes Anderson flick (such as The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). The main story is about mad genius Krank (“Sick”) who abducts children to steal their dreams, with the hope of reversing his accelerated aging because he himself cannot dream. And then there’s the carnival strongman (Ron Perlman), who – with the help of the streetwise orphan Miette (“Little Crumb”) – searches for his little brother who of course has been kidnapped by Krank’s henchmen. This is one of those crazy, weird, dark movies you have to be in the mood for. I thought the acting was a little lame, but the story poses interesting questions about the incredible ways coincidences and accidents add up to important events in life. Maybe you’d like to give this one a try.