I have all French films at home right now. Sometimes I understand so much French in a film, but with this one - City of Lost Children - it's like I never studied the language at all.
I hope that doesn't influence whether I like the film? I don't think it does. But I didn't like this one much. It is amazingly creative and well acted, and very imaginative, but I never want to watch it again. I had a stomach ache while watching it this one time.
Do you remember The Professional, Natalie Portman's breakthrough? I was nervous in that one, because there was so much sexual tension between Natalie's character and Jean Reno in the film. She was playing a 12 year old in the film, and Reno was a 30 or 40 year old hit man. It was disturbing, which was the intention.
In The Professional, as I remember it, Jean Reno's character is child-like in many ways, which was perhaps supposed to explain the relationship? I will watch it again. The same occurs in The City of Lost Children.
Here we have Ron Perlman playing One, a former whale harpooner and now a carnival strongman. He has a little brother, whom he found in a garbage can and adopted. The little boy gets stolen by a group of cyclops - type men who sell children to an evil scientist who wants their dreams. Sounds crazy? This is a Jeunet film (Amelie), and he specializes in alternate worlds.
One is aided in his search for his brother by Miette, an orphan now belonging to a gang of child-thieves. Miette is more of an adult than One, who adopts her as well and calls her "his angel" and tattoos her name on his arm. Hence my discomfort. Nothing untoward happens, but I was waiting. Those damn French.
This film has a following, and I can see why. Artistically, there is nothing close outside of animation. If you want something that will make you marvel, rent it. I, however, was creeped out by most of story - the relationships, the villains, the fleas.
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