Cities and the Sky

Oh my god, guys, I just saw the BEST MOVIE EVER. For reals. It's called City of Ember, it's basically a kid's movie, it has got no press and fairly lukewarm reviews. It doesn't bode well, I know. But the aesthetic of the movie is so inventive and wonderful that even if the acting and plot sucked it would be worth seeing. Luckily the action is understated and intelligent and the acting is uniformly fine. It's a no-brainer. GO SEE IT.

The film is about an underground city built as a haven for humankind following some unspecified worldwide disaster. The city is powered by an enormous generator (see below), which is slowly running down after 200 years. Hundreds of electric lamps hang above the city, and the whole place has a grimy, gadgety, old-fashioned, buzzing lightbulb kind of feel to it. It is very steampunk. The story follows two kids who try to find a way up into the light before everything powers down, hampered on their quest by corrupt officials and the institutionalized and complacent mentality of the populace.

The design is uniformly thoughtful and inventive, down to the packaging of the tinned food they have as supplies and the posters on the walls. The particulars of this underground world are subtly evoked, and at no point are you hit over the head with obvious plot points or morals. It's as if they don't consider their audience to be idiots, or something.




So despite this annoyingly over-emphatic and preachy post, you should absolutely see this film. Because the sad thing is that no one else will. Honestly, some advertiser out there sucks at their job.

Ooh, and then watch The Iron Giant!!