Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men 
Release : 2006
Country : Great Britain
Language : English
Children of Men is a British sci-film, released in 2006, adapted from the novel by P.D James, The Children of Men.
The film is directed by the famous Mexican director
Alfonso Cuaron, whose previous directorial efforts include the critically acclaimed Spanish language film Y tu mama tambien and the fourth film in the juvenile fantasy series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While it is not certain why a director like Cuaron would direct a crassly commercial venture like Harry Potter, he redeems himself with masterful direction in Children of Men.
P.D James is a British novelist, noted for her detective stories. The Children of Men is one of her better known works.
Like A Scanner Darkly, Children of Men too is a book adaptation which this reviewer has watched without reading the book first. Instead of harping on how far the film strayed from the book, this review should hopefully comment upon the cinematic quality of the film.
Story & Screenplay :
London, England in 2027
For more than eighteen years now, humans all over the world have stopped reproducing. Every female who has come of age is infertile and the cause for this condition still remains unknown. The populace have resigned themselves to an uncertain future with no hope in sight. The thought of the extinction of the human race causes widespread anarchy.
Governments have collapsed and the film hints at the possibility of a global conflict, possibly a World War which caused the major cities of the world like New York, Moscow and Tokyo to wiped out in nuclear attacks. Most nations in the world have succumbed to total anarchy and the only nation that still stands is Great Britain. A very fragile state of normalcy is maintained by an authoritarian government which tries frantically to stop the huge influx of refugees, referred to as
fugees in the film, from other places.
There are rumours of the
Human Project, a collective of scientists living in the Azores who have dedicated their lives to find a cure to the malaise that afflicts the world's population.
With this terrifyingly dystopian backdrop, the film opens with the news that the youngest person in the world, who was the last baby to be born before the epidemic, was stabbed to death. Watching the news is Theodore Faron, a government worker. Theo lives his life emotionless and unfeeling. He lost his son in an accident and his wife Julian left him to join the
Fishes, an underground movement dedicated to fighting for the rights and humane treatment of the fugees.
Theo is kidnapped by the Fishes and it's current leader, Julian asks her ex-husband for help to smuggle an illegal immigrant from Africa to Great Britain. Theo agrees to do it for the money that is offered to him. Theo does his part to help in smuggling Kee, the African lady across the border.
Kee calls for Theo and drops her clothes in front of him. Theo stares at her swollen stomach in amazement, different emotions flashing across his face. After eighteen long years, a baby will be born...
Cast, Characters & Acting :
Theo Faron is played by the English actor Clive Owen, who was earlier seen in Sin City. The character he potrays is an emotionless and detached man, who seems to deal with an uncertain future by just shutting it all out. Later in the film, when he is bestowed with the task of protecting the hope of humanity, he seems frightened and unsure of himself.
Julian Taylor is played by the American actress Julianne Moore. She is the leader of the Fishes and there is reason behind kidnapping Theo and asking him for a favour. Theo is the only man she can trust.
Jasper Palmer is a retired political cartoonist, played by the English actor Michael Caine. He is a hippy who listens to
Zen music and takes care of his wife who lives in a vegetative state. Jasper is the only friend Theo has got.
There are a host of other interesting characters with their quirks and eccentricities. The abundance of acting talent in the film keeps the characers fresh and three dimensional.
| SPOILER WARNING! - Further Discussion (To be read post viewing) |
A scathing commentary on current affairs and warning of a bleak future?
The film is a very loose adaptation of the novel and one gets the feeling that Alfonso Cuaron took a lot of liberties in making significant changes to the plot.
Every woman in the world turning infertile might seem like a fantastical premise (not out of place in a sci-fi flick like this though), but the effects that such a global epidemic might have on the populace is chillingly real indeed. There is an anti-war message, but more importantly it looks at the human rights situation from two very different perspectives. We first see Theo living his life as a citizen of Great Britain with access to all the priviliges that can be had in this dystopian world. He doesn't care much for the intolerably cruel and inhumane treatment given to illegal immigrants. Whether this attitude comes from his emotionless detachment caused by thoughts of an uncertain future or from compliance with the government's policy to keep out immigrants using any means possible, we'll never know. But since it is shown that Theo was once a political activist, it could be assumed that the former is correct.
Along with images of refugees being subjected to cruel torture (which is very similar to the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by the Americans), there are also images of Islamic terrorists walking the streets of Great Britain. When the Government issues warnings on television to stop hiding refugees and prevent terrorism, you begin to wonder what would happen if the British government opened its doors to refugees and at the same time risked possible destruction of the whole country through anarchy.
Then there is Theo who enters the refugee camps and witnesses their plight first hand. He is moved by their situation.
Two very different perspectives which leaves the viewers unable to decide which side to take. This leaves the viewer with the realisation that this is a doomed world.
Moved to tears
Cuaron's excellent direction can be seen in three scenes which will remain in the viewer's memory long after the credits finish rolling across the screen.
The first is where Kee shows her pregnant stomach to Theo. Metaphorically similar to a faint light at the end of a long dark tunnel, this scene signifies the emergence of hope or the realisation that God has still not given up on the world.
The second scene is very graphic and realistically shot. Theo helps Kee deliver her baby and this depiction of childbirth is very frank and realistic.
The third scene at the climax of the film will possibly remain in the viewer's mind for a long time. Theo and Kee are holed up in a decrepit building that houses dozens of refugees. The building is surrounded by British troops who are engaged in a gun fight with terrorists camping inside the building. Theo tries to take Kee and her child outside the building and as the baby starts crying, the refugees who were earlier panic striken and cowering in fear, emerge out ignoring the bullets whizzing past them just to reach out and touch the baby. As they exit the building, the British troops stop firing and stand in silence as the trio walks past them. Many soldiers drop to their knees and praise their God. For a few minutes, there is silence and not a single bullet is fired. After the mother and baby leave, the firing starts again. This is a very moving scene and the viewer realises that one of the greatest miracles in this world is that of a mother and child.
An ending left open to interpretation
The ending of the film could be considered to be tragic or the beginning of a new world depending upon the viewer's interpretation. Theo and Kee take the boat to rendezvous with the Tomorrow ship. Theo is shot and at the end, he slumps over just before the Tomorrow ship sails into view. Is Theo dead or just unconscious from loss of blood? Is the Tomorrow really the path to the Human Project or just a fishing vessel? The viewer never gets to know as the screen fades to black.
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This is a very thought provoking film and comes highly recommended by this reviewer.
For another piece of fiction with a similar theme, try out the comic series
Y : The Last Man (recommended to me by forum member Animesh) which talks about a world affected by a plague that attacks the Y chromosome with fatality. This is a world with no men and the women who are grief stricken come to terms with living in a world with no men and possible extinction. The miracle appears in the form of a man who survives the plague.
For another British sci-fi film about a dystopian future, watch Code 46.
Reviewed by foogarky.