What happens to the world when no one on the planet is capable of having children? In Children of Men, the brave and engrossing film by Alfonso Cuarón, the answer is chaos. Except for Great Britain, the world has fallen into anarchy. People have lost hope. Social structure is breaking down.In a world with no new children, celebrities are made of the youngest people on earth. Societal priorities suddenly shift. Thinking their eventual extinction is within a single generation, government puts massive amounts of money into works of art and things that will not only show how we lived, but why.
Cuarón does some extraordinary camera work in Children, using long, complex shots to bring us directly into the world while various levels of mayhem occur around us in what had to be massively difficult choreographed work.
Clive Owen, Julianna Moore, Michael Caine and the under appreciated Chiwetel Ejiofor are all wonderful as they get involved in politics, immigration debates and the possibility of pregnant young woman existing in a sterile world.
Can the cry of a baby stop a war? Can one child save humankind? What would we be willing to sacrifice to save mankind?
Check out Children of Men to find out. It's an inventive, effective flick.
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4 comments:
The scene that sticks out in my head is when they are trying to escape the house by rolling the car down the driveway. The suspense during that part is almost unbearable, and it feels like you are there because of the camera work. Increasing the suspense was the fact that there is no music playing during that scene....makes it feel incredibly believable.
Uncle Pete,
What do you think about Wes Anderson's films?
I don't get Wes Anderson's films. Bottle Rocket I liked. Other than that, not a big fan. I know a lot of people who are, but his material apparently doesn't mesh with my sensibilities.
Children of Men made an impact on me, and it's as good as filmmaking can get.
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