Directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro united for 1991’s well-regarded Delicatessan. Before they went their separate ways, they paired for one more effort: 1995’s similarly well-received fantasy The City of Lost Children.

Created by a scientist, Krank (Daniel Emilfork) ages prematurely due to his inability to dream. To solve this problem, he kidnaps children and steals their dreams.

Young Denree (Joseph Lucien) ends up as one of the abducted kids. His adoptive older brother One (Ron Perlman) – a circus strongman – works with others to rescue Denree and the rest of the kids.

As of 2022, Jeunet probably remains most famous for 2001’s Oscar-nominated Amelie. Among some, though, Jeunet still seems infamous for 1997’s not-exactly-beloved Alien Resurrection, the fourth film in that franchise.

Jeunet likely got picked for Resurrection due to his involvement in City. Indeed, one can see this film’s surreal tendencies carried over into the Alien movie.

Though I exist in the minority, I like Resurrection, so this made me curious to see what Jeunet did along with Caro in City. I also enjoyed Amelie more than expected, so I hoped City would engage me as well.

Maybe?

On the positive side, Jeunet and Caro show a rich ability to create a strange and compelling universe. City can feel like a Terry Gilliam film on acid, as it consistently provides a bizarre and curious environment for its story.

Though perhaps I should put quotes around “story”, as City doesn’t provide what I could call a tight narrative. Indeed, if I’d not already read a synopsis before I fired up the disc, I feel unsure that I’d have been able to understand much that happened here.

Oh, the basic notion of kidnapping and rescue becomes clear enough, even if the movie doesn’t really go firmly down both paths until after the first act. Still, City so heavily emphasizes its warped visuals that the plot takes a firm backseat.

Perhaps the confusion the viewer may encounter makes sense given the subject matter. Much of City plays like a dream, with all the weirdness and lack of coherence that often results.

Nonetheless, the more literal audience member might struggle to cope with all the strangeness on display. I admit I prefer movies with more concise narratives, so I can find City to seem off-putting at times.

Nonetheless, I can’t deny the artistry on display and the filmmakers’ ability to give us an inventive and intriguing universe. If one enters City with a willingness to simply go with the flow and not sweat its lack of strict story development, it turns into a vivid and compelling work.

The City of Lost Children appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This Dolby Vision presentation worked well.

Overall sharpness satisfied. Occasional instances of softness popped up, but most of the movie felt well-defined and precise.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt light but natural, and print flaws failed to mar the proceedings.

Colors opted for a dingy green feel much of the time, though other hues cropped up as well – especially reds. These came across with the intended impact, and the disc’s HDR gave them added range and oomph.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, while shadows felt smooth and clear. HDR gave whites and contrast extra power. This turned into a highly satisfying image.

As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 2.0 soundtrack, I docked it a little due to the absence of 5.1. By 1995, most films had moved past basic 2.0 surround, so this one should’ve gone 5.1.

Nonetheless, the soundfield seemed reasonably satisfying despite the lack of split surround material. The mix brought out a good sense of a strange settings and created a fairly involving soundscape, with pretty active use of the back speakers at times.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that sounded concise and natural. Music seemed full and lush.

Effects offered solid accuracy and range, with some worthwhile low-end at the appropriate times. While I wish the movie came with a 5.1 mix, this 2.0 track still fared nicely.

Note that in addition to the film’s native French, an English dub appeared as well. It stinks, as the dialogue seems unnatural and fails to integrate with the movie.

Two audio commentaries appear here, the first of which comes from co-writer/co-director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Recorded in 2001, he provides a running, screen-specific look at story and characters, cast and performances, sets and production design, various effects, costumes, music and audio, photography and editing, his collaboration with co-director Marc Caro, and related topics.

Jeunet proves unusually self-critical, so expect to hear a fair amount related to what he dislikes about the film. Jeunet gives us nice insights about working with kids and other particular challenges during this very informative track.

We also get a second commentary from Jeunet and actor Ron Perlman, with occasional involvement from Jeunet’s assistant Christine. Also taped in 2001, both sit together for their running, screen-specific discussion of cast and performances, various effects, story and characters, music, sets and production design, costumes, editing, photography, and connected domains.

Expect a fair amount of repetition from the first commentary, as plenty of Jeunet's remarks already appear there. Jeunet produces some new information and Perlman provides occasional nuggets, but overall, this feels like a pretty redundant track that can drag at times as well.

Three featurettes follow, and Making of spans 27 minutes, 13 seconds. It brings behind the scenes footage as well as on-the-set comments from Jeunet, Perlman, production designer Jean Rebasse, technical coordinator Laure LaCroix, co-writer/co-director Marc Caro, head of digital special effects Pitof, digital artists Arnaud LaMorlette and Pierre Buffin, and actors Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon, and Daniel Emilfork.

We get some notes about cast and performances, story and characters, sets and design, and effects. Inevitably some material repeats from the commentaries, but the additional participants add value, as do the shots from the production.

Les Archives de Jean-Pierre Jeunet runs 13 minutes, 37 seconds and offers a collection of behind the scenes elements. We see footage of rehearsals and aspects of the production in this engaging collection.

For the last featurette, we find an Interview with Jean-Paul Gaultier. It lasts three minutes, 37 seconds as the costume designer tells us about his work on the film. Though brief, Gaultier offers some decent notes.

We end with ads. The disc provides one trailer and three teasers.

No one who wants a concise, literal narrative should watch The City of Lost Children. However, viewers open to a warped but rich visual universe will likely enjoy this creative and inventive offering. The 4K UHD comes with strong visuals, largely positive audio and a mix of bonus materials. The film becomes a weird but wild feast for the eyes.

Note that as of November 2022, this 4K UHD disc of City of Lost Children appears solely via an 11-film “Sony Picture Classics 30th Anniversary” box. It also includes Orlando, Celluloid Closet, Run Lola Run, SLC Punk, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Devil’s Backbone, Volver, Synecdoche, New York, Still Alice and Call Me By Your Name.