Monday Movie: The City of Lost Children

When a cult of one-eyed cyborgs decide to abduct the adopted little brother of circus strongman One and sell him to the evil genius Krank, they don't bet on One forming an unbeatable alliance with orphaned child thief Miette ("Crumb") and mounting a daring rescue. Then again, in their way stand not just the cyclops, but Krank's cloned brothers, Miette's criminal bosses (a pair of conjoined twins known as "The Octopus") and a number of highly-trained and deadly fleas...

Visually, La Cité des Enfants Perdu is breathtaking; conceptually it's bold and fearlessly quixotic; and even the most bizarre of its many characters and settings are easy to love. As an exercise in storytelling, it does fall short, cramming in too much too quickly, and allowing events to tumble forward with little sense of cause and effect. But if you're looking to be drawn into a vivid and fantastic alternate reality, this is quite the rabbit hole to get sucked into.