Children of Men

I saw Children of Men last night, beautifully directed by Alfonso Cuarón. It's bleak and gripping, but not without hope and not without humor or humanity. There's a good review in the NY Times (and elsewhere), but the basic story is set in 2027 Britain that's become a war zone and, since the rest of the world seems to be worse, a magnet for refugees, who are being rounded up for either deportation or prison camps. Meanwhile, the world's women have become infertile and the youngest person in the world, at 18, has been murdered in a world gone mad. Theo, played by Clive Owen, is recruited by his ex-lover to help get a young "fugee" to safety because, as it turns out, she is pregnant.

There are lots of interesting touches - an art-collecting cousin of Theo's has Picasso's Guernica on the wall, and all the Nativity story references - the young woman reveals her pregnancy to Theo in a barn, the sandals he ends up wearing having left shoes behind in a hasty escape, not to mention the exclamations of "Jesus Christ!" when the swaddled baby is witnessed later in the movie! There's a scene in an empty, dilapidated school that was touching - of course, there are no more children to attend. There are lots of dogs and cats (presumably child substitutes) that seem particularly drawn to Theo. (Well hell, I'd be particularly drawn to Theo - Clive Owen is one easy man to watch!) If you wait to the very end of the credits, and Cuarón's always interesting musical choices (I have the soundtrack to his Y tu mamá también - excellent), you hear the sound of children in a playground, a dusting of sweetness to end the movie as "shanti shanti shanti" appears on the screen.

Comments

[Bob Eggleton]

I've seen it twice. It's pretty incredible, and everyone I know who has seen it has had their socks blown off. It's bleak, not pretty but, plays out a pretty accurate depiction of some aspects of the future, the way we're headed. The Nazi-like treatment of Illegal Immigrants was fairly stark. Another film that came out along these lines, this past year was V FOR VENDETTA-somewhat more poetic and comic-book like(it was based on a graphic novel) but more or less plays the same tune-that Britain is ruled in 2024 by a fascist regime and any "undesirables" are jailed, experimented on, etc and, the general public just kind of buys into it, the same way Neocons bought into Dubya's invasive agenda when he implimented it. CHILDREN OF MEN however is indeed arty, and at times tough to watch and it's something everyone should see. The theaters we've seen it in have been well attended. Glad you got to see it. It's hard to tell people the film is science fiction, but plays close to threads we see starting today, and their ultimate way they play out.

[leslee]

I'm thrilled that it's in general release, and not just out at the art houses. There was a decent crowd at the cineplex when I went. Yah, it's hardly science fiction, only set 20 years in the future, so it looks a lot like it does now, just nastier. And yes, we can already see previews. Very smartly done.

[Dave]

I read the novel. It was very good. Fortunately, though, I read it long enough ago, and my memory is poor enough, that I could probably enjoy the film without bothering about whether or how closely it follows the book.

[Bob Eggleton]

It changes from the book. First, we never see or meet The Warden of England as we do in the book. That scene is now Theo's rich/artsy cousin who has "connections". Also, the book was from 1993, before the world of 9/11 so it(V FOR VENDETTA did the same) Bush-ifies much of the politics and, in the Bexwell Refuge Camp, you see people being tortured-only glanced at from a bus window, exactly like some of the Abu-Graib photos. The US has descended into Civil War, NYC has been nuked(mentioned in passing and seen on a propaganda ad on the TV screens purporting that "Britain Soldiers On") and some kind of nuclear war has decimated Africa and the Middle East. And, as I recall, the events in the book took place in 1997, this takes place in 2027(V FOR VENDETTA did same). Reminded me alot of PLATOON and FULL METAL JACKET with it's intensity and graphic depictions.

[leslee]

I liked Cuarón's approach. Any graphic violence is generally shot at a distance, though the emotional violence is felt. It's not necessary to be 'in your face' and that can take away from the story, brutalizing the audience rather than drawing you in. The color is washed out in the cinematography, too, which corresponds to the hopelessness. But the life in it comes from the bits of humor, the quietly irrepressible young woman, the sudden connections and humanity that emerge out of nowhere, unexpectedly. That's what I find remarkable about the movie.

[Joe]

Seems like none of the local theaters are playing it so I'll either wait for wider release or get it on DVD. It's getting great reviews from all over the place so I imagine that'll help get it into a wider release.

We do have some nice single or double screen venues around here, I'll keep my eye on their schedule.

[leslee]

I think it'd be good to see on a big screen, if possible. But still a good one for the small if that's all you've got!