City of Ember

(USA, 2008, 94 minutes)

Two youngsters living in a decaying underground city set up 200 years ago to save mankind from destruction find a mysterious box that may be the way out of it. Intriguing dystopian sci-fi from a popular children's book, expertly realised though more attuned to the inspired set design than to character or performance.

Walden Media presents a Playtone production. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Martin Landau, Mary Kay Place, Toby Jones; and Tim Robbins. Directed by Gil Kenan; produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Steven Shareshian; screenplay by Caroline Thompson, based on the novel by Jeanne Duprau, The City of Ember; music by Andrew Lockington; director of photography (DeLuxe, widescreen), Xavier Pérez Grobet; production designer, Martin Laing; costume designer, Ruth Myers; film editors, Zach Staenberg, Adam P. Scott; visual effects supervisor, Eric Durst.