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MOVIE review :    Children of Men .

by: Anthony Chatfield

I first heard of Alfonso Cuaron with his brilliant Y Tu Mama Tambien, a coming of age tale set in the Mexican countryside that not only dared to do something taboo and provocative, but solidified Gabriel Garcia Bernal as a world class actor. He took an interesting turn immediately afterward by taking on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as his next project. While it can be arguably said his was the best of the Harry Potter films thus far, it was a project that didn’t seem to sync with his talents and what the world expected from him after his breakout success.

Two years later however, he returns with the brilliant adaptation of P.D James’ Children of Men. As a film, Children of Men is a powerhouse of emotion, born on a strong allegorical base, the kind that in this day and age is impossible to ignore, as well as a poignant commentary on our past as a species. Cuaron isn’t content to merely point out the foibles of worldwide stances on immigration, social welfare, and government interaction; he eviscerates them with as pointed and dystopian a view of the future as modern cinema has ever seen.

The world of Children of Men is one of death and dying. The year is 20278 and it has been 18 years since the last human baby was born, since then all women have become infertile and through a combination of the downturn of human society as Cuaron sees it today and the devastation of any kind of future for humanity, the world has devolved into civil war, in which England has remained as the only uniform government and millions of immigrants try to cross her borders every day. These illegal immigrants are not merely turned away, but bound and caged, taken to concentration camps and thrown into swampy ghettos. In scenes reminiscent of Schindler’s List, men and women are stripped of their clothing, thrown from buses and beaten, only to be shown later, lined up on the ground, dead.

The imagery is so striking, and so authentic, that it is hard to keep reminding yourself that it is the future you are watching, not a battle in some third world country overseas. When Theo, the ex-husband of a resistance leader is recruited to help smuggle a Fugee (refugee or illegal immigrant) out of the country, things become intense. As he soon learns, this woman, Kee, is pregnant, the first woman pregnant in over 18 years.

The ensuing race to save her baby, outrun the resistance groups who only want to use her, and avoid the collateral damage of the fully fledged war zone that is England rivals anything that’s been filmed in recent years. Emmanuel Lubezki, Curaon’s cinematographer for Y Tu Mama Tambien shoots one of the most incredible films of the year by putting the camera into the action, drawing the viewer in and never daring to look away. A car chase scene, preceded by numerous lines of dialogue, exploding cars, mobs of people and complex motorcycle chase is done in a single shot, deftly maneuvered from within the car.

Similarly, the film’s climax, shot in the war torn, battlefields of the ghettos is a destructive tour de force, once again maintained with a single camera shot, so attached to Theo as he maneuvers through it all that your heart has no choice but to beat along with his – as fast as possible.

This film is incredible for two reasons. It doesn’t pander to its audience first off. Every single shot in this film, every idea, every line of dialogue is striving for a goal. There are no empty exchanges or displays of violence. When a limb is removed surreptitiously by a mortar, it is done for a reason. The brutality of the human race in those end days, when the youngest person on the planet’s murder is cause for international mourning, goes beyond the realization that there is no future. These people cry for the realization that a child will be born, but in the end only want to use that child, and continue fighting regardless. Children of Men is a monumental accomplishment, a commentary on the brutality and senselessness of war and a nudge from a director who sees the human race going in the wrong direction. His messages are plenty and this film will unveil them only one at a time as you watch, subtly through its violence. In that, Alfonso Cuaron has made a truly great film.

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About The Author

I'm a self avowed unemployed writer, working on semi-constant basis to try and overcome the need to go and work a real job. I've written more than 200 articles and reviews and am constantly scouring the internet for any and all excuses and methods to make myself less dependent on corporate pay days. Visit my website at TheChatfield.com

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