VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

roystephen-81252 One of my greatest cinematic experiences. For me, cinema has always been about imagination, and I just love movies that send you a positive message about how imagination can set you free.Seeing the world through a child's eyes, turning even the darkest, most depressive of worlds into a world of wonder through the sheer power of dreams and unbridled imagination - that's pure magic.From a certain point of view, most of Jeunet's movies are about that, and with their wonderfully bizarre characters and environments, beautifully choreographed clockwork-action sequences, dreamlike colour palettes and unique camera angles, they are true successors to Terry Gilliam's best films (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen).Totally unique and heart-warming, maybe even more so than Jeunet's other two great movies, Amélie and A Very Long Engagement.

SnoopyStyle The evil Krank (Daniel Emilfork), his dwarf wife and his clone minions children (Dominique Pinon) have a machine to steal the dreams of young children because Krank can't have dreams himself. One (Ron Perlman) is a strong man performer whose little brother Denree is kidnapped by Krank's underlings, the Cyclops. Miette (Judith Vittet) is a young street kid who ends up helping him.This has a lot of weird concepts on display. I can only describe this a outlandish mix of Dickensian poverty and a french grimy Jules Verne sci-fi with a good helping of weird surrealism. The visual is a good unique grim fairy tale but the story drags a little too much. It meanders and is confused. It is in love with its visual surrealism more than trying to make sense with the story. It should be a lot more simpler than what it is. It spends a lot of time luxuriating in the weirdness of the world and the villain.

billcr12 Jean-Pierre Jeunet has an interesting directing resume, with Ameile(I loved it), and Delicatessen(lost me), and Micmacs(funny). City of Lost Children is another fantasy with a mad scientist abducting children and stealing their dreams. The cast is wide ranging and the usual odd ball characters portrayed in Jeunet's other works. I was exhausted by the visual throw everything up on the screen and try to follow this marathon of strange behavior. The most interesting role is that of the circus strong man, One(Ron Perlman), who is a good guy trying to rescue the children from the bad doctor. The sets are intricate and colorful but the twists and turns of the story are overdone, without Amelie's wit and charm to save it.

johnstonjames every time i view this film, i'm always impressed at what a remarkable achievement it truly is. i believe this to be one of the greatest works of visual fantasy since the works of Cocteau.CGI effects movies would do well to study exactly how this film's visuals are applied and used so effectively. even before the popularity of today's CGI driven blockbusters, visual effects in movies could often be "showy" or distracting from the storyline and diminish empathy with a film's characters and situations. not so with 'Lost Children', the visuals only enhance the atmosphere and effectiveness of the story telling. the visuals become a protagonist, of sorts, and enhance each sequence to become more compelling and immerse the viewer emotionally.i've always loved the Disney family classic 'Mary Poppins', and feel it to have a lot of heartfelt message. but the reliance on technical visuals often makes the film a little confusing and feel episodic. there are so many visual effects and ideas that 'Poppins' can leave the viewer a little confused about what is actually supposed to be happening and what it's about. the storyline of 'Lost Children' is rather abstracted, but the viewer never really loses sight of film's actors and their motivations. instead of distracting from the storyline, the visual effects actually make the events more compelling.this film is also superb in every department. the acting, the screenplay, the music and production design, and of course, it's marvelous technology.Ron Perlman's sideshow strong man and Judith Vittet's tough minded street orphan, are two of the most memorable and compelling performances i've seen in cinema. the other performances from the flea circus master to the sinister and horrid Siamese twins, are impeccable. and where in Heaven's name did they find so many cute and irresistible kids. many of these tykes and toddlers are no more than three or four years old and some of them are effective actors as well.even though i would very much recommend this film for children, even if it is a little disturbing and at times frightening, this film is not for everyone's taste. but i would venture to wonder if those people were ever really children or ever had a deep and unexplainable dream or nightmare. dreams are the very fabric this movie is woven of.this film is for anyone who loves and is defensive of children and childhood. and for those who truly believe that their dreams speak to them.