Rating of
3.5/4
Amazing
chiggles - wrote on 05/31/08
Set in 2027, when no child has been born for 18 years and science is at loss to explain the reason, African and East European societies collapse and their dwindling populations migrate to England and other wealthy nations. In a climate of nationalistic violence, a London peace activist turned bureaucrat Theo Faron, joins forces with his revolutionary ex-wife Julian in order to save mankind by protecting a woman who has mysteriously became pregnant.
Children of Men, is nonetheless a fantastic movie. I must say that I had intentions of seeing it, but never really thought I had the patience. First, lets discuss the plot. This is not a new idea, only the directors vision of the future. I have heard the idea of women being able to not have babies before, but Children of Men mixes it with bleak politics and an action story as well. This plot though, is unique because the reason this world is the way it is, is probably because theyre are no children. People say that us as humans are meant to continue life by having babies and continuing life. In Children of Men, we see that with every death, the population continues to get smaller and smaller so eventually the race will end.
There is a fine character story revolved around Children of Men, the story of Theo. Played amazingly by actor Clive Owen, Theo is one of the most interesting characters I have seen in a film. As many people would believe that his story is thin in here, I thought it was very complex. I like him as a character because in this character state, many people would back out from the start. But Theo risks everything for the sake of this woman and her baby. Now, he did have a son and this could be one of the reasons why, but its interesting to think about why he decided to help.
I must point out that the directing featured in Children of Men is done with solid perfection. Right from the start we could see that Alfonso goes for some very complicated shots. If I can remember, there are about 3 scenes where the camera makes some complicated moves, one shot over 5 minutes long without an edit spot. There are many shots like this, and it gives the film sort of a reality because we see that the actors are really trying to nail the parts. Towards the end of the movie, we get more into the action zone then thriller like in the beginning and middle. The end begins to show the uprising, so there are plenty of little shootouts and explosions which get you really into the movie. I like how it does this because its a complete change of mood because in the middle it gets a little slow, just to pick up again.
Children of Men is an amazing movie. With a great plot and character stories, I felt very engaged to the situations which unfold. Highly recommended!!
