Children of Men (2006)

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.

A Father's Illness

I spent most of the Thanksgiving holiday on the road. I drove up to my brother Steve's house on Friday. Together we rode up to NC to visit my father in the nursing home on Saturday. We spent some time with him in the morning. He looked quite ill and had lost a lot of weight. The prognosis is not good. Later we went back to my sister Mary's house, had a nice discussion with my Mom about Dad. We then went to Mass, saw Dad again one more time before Steve and I headed back to his house.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see my father, hold his hand, kiss is face and tell him I love him. He is still mentally aware, but worn down by years of Parkinson's and the various other infections and ailments he is dealing with now.

It was nice to see most of my family while being up there and to spend the drives to and from NC with my brother Steve. We are so blessed to have such a loving, caring family. We all get along so well and love spending time together.

The drive back home Sunday was long and I took Monday, my 42nd birthday, off from work so I could recover both physically and emotionally from the trip.

Now I just pray that God's Will be done with my father's health. He's led a good, spiritual and loving life. He has taught me to interact with my children at their level... something of which I have learned is a rare thing. He has taught me the correct priorities in marriage... God, spouse, children. He is a wonderful example, even now, of how to live one's life.

I hope he hears my prayers and they somehow relieve his burden.