Last night we watched The City of Lost Children, which is a recent French fantasy film. I thought this would be interesting, since American fantasy films are fairly predictable (they all turn into action movies eventually). I thought, hey I wonder what the French culture is going to conjure up for fantasy.

Weeeelllll ... it's a little scary, actually. It started out well with a kid in a crib and six or seven demented Santa Clauses coming down a chimney, reindeer poop plopping down on the floor and the kid bursting into tears. As Chris said, "So far, this is the best movie ever!"

Unfortunately it didn't stay the best movie ever. I'm not 100% sure what wasn't quite right about it. It might have been the evil siamese twin ladies, or the skinny dream-stealing man, or the lady dwarf with a pompadour. Hard to say.

But what I'm thinking now, while I write this, is that it just wasn't any fun. The only joke (that got through to my American brain anyway) was the little kid who burped. That's not that funny.

It's entirely possible that I was looking for a narrative that was more in the American tradition. I'm not quite sure. It was just a little too scary and a little too confusing.

Chris, do you have anything to add?

  ¶ 4:25 PM