Children of Men

[jamesq]

"I can't really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can't remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what's left to hope for?"

I first heard about Children of Men from a buddy of mine who had moved to Scotland. It was released there back in September, whereas it wasn't released in North America until December 25. It didn't come out here to the sticks until weeks later.

What did my friend in the Highlands say about CoM? He said it was the best movie of the year and that I should see it the second it came out in Canada. Now this friend thought The Day After Tomorrow was a work of brilliance, so I tend to take his opinions on movies with a grain of salt.

Turns out he was right this time. Children of Men is the best movie of 2006 that I've seen. That Little Miss Sunshine was nominated over it for for Best Picture is nothing short of robbery. And I liked LMS.

This is a depressing movie, no question. Earth is going to hell, torn apart by forces of self-destruction, fear, hopelessness and desperation. There are lots of peoples with guns and nothing to lose. The UK looks like news footage of Baghdad. The opening scene is one were our hero Theo (Clive Owen) narrowly misses being a nameless statistic in a coffee shop bombing. People are being round up and taken to refuge camps. Suicide pills are advertised on the television. Civilization is in its death throws.

Theo is asked by his ex-wife, now rebel-leader, Julian (Julianne Moore) to help get a young woman to the coast. It is soon revealed that the young woman Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) is actually pregnant. She is, in fact, the first woman to be pregnant in almost twenty years.

What follows is a journey/chase as Theo tries to protect Kee while those around them die in bursts of violence. Kee is a hot commodity and her child is a prize beyond imagining.

But the real journey here is that of Theo, who becomes alive again as he learns to care once more after many years of determinedly not caring. It's a depressing movie yes, but it's ultimately about hope and redemption and the director, Alfonso Cuarón, brings Theo (and by extension, the audience) to both of those powerful ideals.

I'm normally quite aware of "movie tricks" that attempt to manipulate your emotions. It's rare that I feel overwhelming emotions at movies because of this. But I crave those rare moments and treasure them when they happen. Children of Men contains at least three such moments, when I was so sucked into the moment that I forgot I was watching a movie and was simply part of it.

If you've been avoiding this movie because of the dystopic subject matter, please reconsider. It was powerful and thought-provoking in a way few movies are anymore.

Cross-posted to calgaryfilm

Comments

[ya-inga.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the excellent review. I was wish-washy on seeing it because it looked so bleak but now I may give it a go!

Thanks!

[garething.livejournal.com]

I am very interested in seeing this. It really looks good. Maybe I will take Steph this weekend.

[wackynephews.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to this one.

BTW, great review. Glad to see you cross-posted it.

[pandorasbox.livejournal.com]

You saw it with out me????? James, I am so Disapointed...... I knew it wa good & will see it when it comes on DVD because the Fernie Theater is playing Rocky

[laughingmagpie.livejournal.com]

I just saw it today.

Other than the infertility thing - this movie tapped rather eerily into what I fully expect the world to be like in my lifetime. This plus the incredible intensity and realism of the drama has left me rather raw and drained this evening. Not something I want to see again anytime real soon - but something I'm glad I did see.