The City of Lost Children

Friday, December 29 - Saturday, December 30, 2017

35mm print!

“It is a cozy Christmas Eve, and a toy soldier on the windowsill of a little boy’s bedroom comes to life and begins beating on his cymbal. Moments later, a Santa Claus plops into the fireplace, brushes himself off and steps into the room. He is followed by another Santa Claus and another until the place is teeming with ominously jolly Santas.

So begins the provocative but impossibly convoluted cinematic fantasy “The City of Lost Children.” As the boy’s excitement turns to apprehension, the walls begin to crinkle and everything becomes wavy and distorted. Suddenly the child, named Denree (Joseph Lucien), finds himself on the streets of a murky harbor city peopled with carnival characters, among them his adopted brother, a half-witted circus strongman with Munster features named One (Ron Perlman).

This opening scene is the first of many scattered throughout the movie that capture the atmosphere of a child’s fevered nightmare with an astonishing intensity. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, the French film makers who created the 1991 cult hit “Delicatessen,” “The City of Lost Children” is jampacked with surreal imagery: “Frankenstein,” “Peter Pan,” Jules Verne, you name it.” – The New York Times

• Rating R
• Year 1995
• Running Time 112 minutes
• Director Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.