The+City+of+Lost+Children

The City of Lost Children is a science fiction fantasy film directed by Jean Jeunet. It is very stylistically similar to Amelie in its color scheme and surrealist elements. It is set in a dystopian world and the plot revolves around a scientist who kidnaps children to steal their dreams and a former sailor who’s little brother was kidnapped by the scientist. This film contains many familiar themes of varying degree. The first theme can be deduced from the plot. Since the scientist who kidnapped children dies in the end, there is the obvious theme of karma, or “what goes around comes around.” Another theme that is obvious from the plot is the importance of family, evidenced by the fact that One (the strongman) stops at nothing to find his adopted little brother. The tone of the film is dark and dystopian, yet filled with whimsy.

The lighting in this film is very low key due to the dystopian and dark nature of the film. This results in a ominous tone that complements the sinister parts of the film, such as the child snatching cyclops and the demented octopus twins whom make orphans steal for them. However, in light of brighter parts of the film, such as when the diver saves the little girl, the light becomes noticeably higher-key, thus alleviating the darkness for the time being. Essentially, at the films darkest points, such as in the beginning when little brother is stolen, the lighting is the lowest key, but becomes brighter and higher-key towards the climax of the film, when the children are freed and the evil Krank killed. However, this is not blindingly obvious, it is subtle in actuality.

This films sound mainly consists of foley and orchestral scores to back the parts of the film where emotional reaction is desired. To state one example, the scene where Miette (the girl) and One are tied up and stood on the edge of wooden planks to fall to their deaths is backed by loud (relative to the majority of the film) orchestral symphony music to invoke emotion. Music is also used to create flow, in parts meant to guide. In parts where suspense and viewer thought is desired, the absence of music allows for tension and anticipation. Sound fits the theme of the importance of family by complementing the family theme infused segments of the film (such as when One makes Miette his little sister) with melodic, major note oriented scores. In the dark, sinister parts of the film, such as Krank’s dreaming scenes, dissonant and discordant music complement the ominous tone nicely.

The color palette of this film is noticeable at first glance. It is very similar to that of Amelie, in which a couple specific colors are used in abundance and a color cast is present at all times. In The City of Lost Children, the color palette appears to consist mainly of orange and green. Orange is appropriated in the “hero” part of the film, which is mainly the scenes in which One tracks down his little brother. However, it is also used in the scenes with Marcello, who aids One and Miette in their quest. Therefore, to conclude, Orange is used primarily for the “good” character scenes. On the other hand, green is used for all the “evil” character scenes, such as everything that occurs on the oil rig and everything to do with the evil cyclops and Krank and child-snatching.

Another significant aspect of mis en scene in this film is the setting. The buildings are tall and narrow, the streets twisted and always wet. The oil rig, in the middle of the ocean, is amidst a green aura and isolated from society. The steampunk-ness of everything adds a comic satire to the overall darkness of the film. Characters also play a huge role in theme, many introducing themes unique to themselves. For example, the octopus (the twin women whom control the orphans) reflects the theme that being greedy is not good, for their greed caused their ultimate demise. Marcello, the character whom at first seems ambiguous signifies the theme of karma, for as a result of his helping Miette, his life is spared.

The editing works well to complement the mysterious, unsettling tone of the film by cutting between wildly different angles to add to the surrealist style. On top of that, edits are used as transitions abundantly. For example, in one particular example where a car crashes, the initial scene of the car crash is a head-on shot of the car approaching, and then as it crashes the scene cuts to a birdseye of the waterpump which the car hits and the water gushing up as a result. It then cuts to a water drain, which seems related to the water pump but is in fact not, for that leads to a cafe where One finds himself in.

The cinematography in this film complements the themes and tone of the film quite well. The cinematography, like the editing, is unpredictable and unique in terms of composition and movement. Many shots are with a wide angle lens pushed in close on an object to create a distorted field of view that adds to the science-fiction-weirdness of the film. The shots also vary form one another, without keeping any margin of similarity between shots. The tracking shots are fluid and follow movement well, yet is not conventional in its tracking of the object. There are more “specialized” shots such as worms eyes and birds eyes and wide angle close shots than there are “standard” shots of medium distance with a medium field of view. The cinematography also is dynamic in theme, for in the oil rig lab scenes, there are many canted shots and many shots with unconventional framing to make the viewer feel ill at ease, whereas in scenes with One and Miette, the shots are more conventional and “nice” looking (for lack of a better word).

Although there are many themes, the one theme that stands out the most of the importance of family. This is backed by many things; the warm colors, the emotion inducing music, the change of pace in cinematography in family-theme oriented scenes, and the difference in lighting in family-theme oriented scenes. The other themes such as karma and greed are also backed by their respective stylistic elements, such as the green sepia tones, dissonant music and cleverly unpleasant cinematography.