Escape is the only option|Oct. 07, 2008|United States|90 Min.|PG
Genre: Adventure;Family;Fantasy
Description: In *City of Ember* (2008), an underground city is built to protect survivors from an impending global catastrophe. A small metal box, designed to open after 200 years, is passed down among the city’s mayors. However, after the seventh mayor’s sudden death, the box is forgotten. Decades later, Ember’s power generator begins to fail, leading to severe shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials.
During a graduation ceremony, Mayor Cole assigns jobs to the students. Doon Harrow, the son of an inventor, is assigned as a messenger but secretly swaps roles with his classmate Lina Mayfleet, who becomes a pipeworks apprentice. Lina, a descendant of the seventh mayor, discovers the long-forgotten box and, with Doon’s help, deciphers its contents, which include instructions for escaping the city.
Meanwhile, they uncover that Mayor Cole has been hoarding food in a secret vault while the citizens suffer. When Lina tries to expose him, the mayor captures her, but she escapes during a blackout. Now fugitives, Lina, Doon, and Lina’s younger sister Poppy
Cast director: Gil Kenan
Cast actor: Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, David Ryall, Tim Robbins, Mackenzie Crook, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Mary Kay Place, Toby Jones, Lucinda Dryzek
Original name: City of Ember