Children of Men

Children of Men is an excellent film that begs to be seen by anyone with the stomach to handle it. Gritty, violent, and moving; Children of Men is a stunning vision of the future by Alfonso Cuaron. Humans have been incapable of reproducing for nearly twenty years as we pick up the story with Theo, a reporter in this grim, hopeless future. Terrorist bombings are looked on as an everyday occurrence and little is done about them. What's the point? The human race is extinct. This is where Alfonso's directing really comes into play. It is hard to make a future that is truly and completely hopeless. In "The Road" (which is excellent but doesn't quite warrant making it onto this site) we have hope for the father and son even under horrible circumstances. There are no kids in Children of Men. No school, no laughter ringing out in the streets, nothing. It's a bleak and depressing future. If you can take the subject matter it really is an interesting thought about what we might be like as a people if there was no point in existing everyday because we are working toward our extinction.

Clive Owen is excellent and brings a genuinely good guy nature to this bleak film. Julianne Moore is also good, though nothing special in her role. Michael Caine is excellent as Theo's "accomplice" and friend. The music is moving and flows from one scene to another. Intense and gripping in a frightening way when we see immigrants (not illegal immigrants) being thrown in cages and deported, while moving and touching when the action slows to reveal the intricate story surrounding the characters.

Children of Men is great on many levels but I'll point out the distinct few.

1. Most importantly it has it's own visual style that captures the gritty and violent setting it takes place in. The audience will not be sheltered from seeing people crying out in anguish that they are being ripped forcefully from their homes or being beaten savagely by the police for no reason. This being said, it is also one of the most moving things to see when something good happens. It's almost highlighted in the the strangest ways. Time seems to slow. Sound seems to have no meaning. You are so focused on a glimmer of hope in this horrifying world that it touches you on a deep level. An entire war zone stops to look while three people leave a building to escape the violence (when you see this scene see if you catch yourself not breathing, I wasn't).

2. It's got tons of action and a great story. I would highly recommend if a girl would like to see something emotionally stimulating and if the guy would like to see lots of explosions and violence. It has lots of both. While a film buff would say they need to compliment each other accordingly (and I completely agree), I am merely stating a situation where this movie would fit the bill.

I urge you to see this film if you feel you can emotionally take it. I'm not kidding that this isn't a film to be watched lightly. It is important and excellently made but I would not let someone watch it that couldn't handle it. Films must be a respected form of art. Not simply a form of entertainment.

IMDB here.