The City of Lost Children: the story told by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro in this film is rather simple, as it follows a man trying to rescue his little kidnapped brother. The world where it takes place, however, is fascinating; lovingly created, it is bizarre, repugnant, and extremely inventive. It all starts with the casting: the children are all cherubic (even if the characters themselves prove to be older than their years), while the adults have distinctive, unconventional, and memorable faces. First and foremost, Ron Perlman as the sensitive strongman protagonist, and Daniel Emilfork as the cruel mad scientist who is the main antagonist. Acting is, as pretty much everything else, a bit weird, but tonally consistent with the material. Judith Vittet is charming as the young ringleader that helps the protagonist. The production design, by Marc Caro and Jean Rabasse, is stellar, with every frame filled with details, with very strong colors. Cinematographer Darius Khondji captures it all, using all sorts of lens distortions to accentuate even further the excesses. Composer Angelo Badalamenti conjures a beautiful musical score.