Film

The City of Lost Children

Name: The City of Lost Children
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure
Released: 1995
Cast: Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Judith Vittet, Daniel Emilfork, Jean-Claude Dreyfus

A gorgeously nightmarish fairytale set in a decaying industrial seaside city where a mad scientist steals children's dreams. It's visually stunning and deeply strange—part steampunk, part Roald Dahl, all atmosphere. For viewers hungry for cinema that looks like nothing else and doesn't apologize for it.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love dense, storybook fantasy where the production design does as much talking as the plot, and you don't mind a grimy, dreamlike logic that refuses to explain itself.

Skip it if you want brisk plotting or warm, uplifting company, since its mood stays murky and its story wanders through sidetracks and odd digressions.

What it asks of you: Patience with a loose, looping narrative and a tone that swings between eerie and slapstick, over just under two hours.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Brazil1985

Terry Gilliam's masterpiece of bureaucratic dystopia, equally surreal and darkly funny. Obsessive production design creates worlds within worlds, a visual assault that justifies every frame.

But Deliberately obtuse in structure and tone; the plot dissolves into nightmare logic that some find frustratingly impenetrable rather than enlightening.

Labyrinth1986

Jim Henson's dark fantasy with stunning practical effects and pure invention at every turn. A young woman navigates a goblin king's impossible castle—whimsical but genuinely unsettling.

But The songs are charming but a few drag the pacing; David Bowie's appearance, while unforgettable, feels slightly divorced from the story.

The Secret of Kells2009

Gorgeously animated Irish fantasy about illuminating a magical book. Hand-drawn like a living storybook, it's adventure and myth wrapped in art so beautiful it stops time.

But The plot is thin and sometimes feels secondary to the visuals; pacing meanders in ways younger viewers may find slow.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The City of Lost Children

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The NeverEnding Story1984

Both are children's stories told without softening the strangeness or the stakes. Both use practical effects as philosophy—the world *is* the production design. Neither explains itself completely, and both insist you accept impossible things.

A boy reads a magical book that reads him back. Practical effects, puppet work, and genuine weirdness create a children's film that doesn't condescend. It's *real* fantasy—no quips, no shortcuts.

But Pacing is strange by modern standards; the second half loses momentum and some imagery (the Nothing, the Gmork) genuinely disturbs rather than enchants.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

A fairytale about a brave mouse that looks like watercolors come alive. Whimsical, gorgeously designed, and unexpectedly touching about shame, forgiveness, and love.

But It swings wildly in tone between cute and melancholic; the story feels slight compared to its visual ambition.

Spirited Away2001

Miyazaki's masterwork: a girl spirited into a magical bathhouse must steal back her identity. Stunning animation, dreamlike logic, and a coming-of-age story that unfolds through pure cinema.

But Surreal pacing means it doesn't follow conventional narrative beats; some find it slow despite its beauty.

Dark City1998

A noir-soaked mystery in a city where memories are weaponized and reality is malleable. Oppressive design, genuine dread, and a mystery that rewards attention.

But Exposition-heavy opening drags; the metaphysics overshadow character development in ways that feel cold.

MirrorMask2005

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's visual fever dream about a girl lost in her own imagination. Stop-motion and digital art collide in a world that feels genuinely alien and deeply personal.

But The plot barely exists and the dialogue is sparse; some will find it all style and no substance, pretentious rather than profound.

Annihilation2018

A team of women enters a shimmering, reality-bending zone where nature mutates into something gorgeous and wrong. Slow-burn sci-fi that trusts you to sit with strangeness and dread.

But Refuses to explain itself; ambiguous and bleak in ways audiences accustomed to clear answers find frustrating.

The Shape of Water2017

A woman in a Cold War facility falls in love with an amphibious creature. A fairytale for adults: tender, sensual, gorgeously composed, and surprisingly moving.

But Twee in places; some find the romance implausible no matter how prettily it's shot, and the politics feel half-formed.

Chungking Express1994

Both use color, light, and production design as their primary language—the world is designed before anything happens in it. Both are melancholic underneath their whimsy, and both trust the audience to feel rather than understand.

Wong Kar-wai's luminous Hong Kong romance unfolds through neon streets and whispered confessions. Handheld, dreamy, fragmentary—cinema as mood and color rather than plot.

But Narrative is deliberately scattered and there's almost no plot; some find it self-indulgent decoration rather than storytelling.

The Lobster2015

Both create internally consistent fantastical worlds with their own rules, then never break character to explain or soften them. Both are bleak and whimsical at once, refusing the comfort of clarity. Both treat the audience like adults capable of sitting with weirdness.

In a world where unpartnered adults turn into animals, a man must find a mate or become a lobster. Absurdist, darkly comic, and utterly committed to its impossible logic. Yorgos Lanthimos at his strangest and best.

But The deadpan tone is relentless and off-putting; the cruelty—both the world's and the film's—turns some viewers away before they can find the humanity underneath.