The City of Lost Children

The City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus, 1995) is a dark fantasy fable from Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, and you can watch it online on iFILM. On a fog-bound island, a scientist named Krank cannot dream, so he ages far too fast. His fix is monstrous: have children kidnapped and siphon their sleeping minds.

The catch is that the children are terrified of him, so all Krank harvests is nightmares. When his cyclops henchmen snatch the little brother of a circus strongman called One, the giant heads into the harbor town to get him back. He's joined by Miette, a sharp nine-year-old who runs a gang of pickpocket kids. Ron Perlman plays One barely speaking a word of French, which somehow makes him more touching.

Jeunet and Caro built a whole universe out of rust, steam and Dominique Pinon clones, with Darius Khondji's camera bathing it all in that unmistakable copper-green glow. This is no cozy bedtime story but an uneasy, hand-built waking dream for anyone who loves the visual madness of Brazil. Stream The City of Lost Children (1995) online on iFILM.