Children Of Men (2006)

Children of Men is Alfonso Cuaron’s masterpiece. It is a truly flawless film. A perfect film. The film is set in Britain in the not-so-distant future where women have become infertile. There have been no children born in 18 years. Clive Owen plays Theo Faron, who is given the task of taking Kee to ‘the Human Project.’ Why? Kee is pregnant. With such a brilliant and clever plot, it would’ve been easy for the entire script to become exposition, telling the audience everything as it happens. Fortunately, it never descends to heavy-handed dialogue, with Cuaron giving a lot of context in the background of frames, such as Graffiti, posters and adverts giving us visual storytelling as well. The world that is created is a depressingly bleak one. One where the government has set up refugee camps for illegal immigrants and handing out suicide pills to the public. The film is definitely reminiscent of 1984. From a technical standpoint, it’s impossible to beat Children of Men. The cinematography and camerawork is unique and innovative, a notable example being the long action shots that are littered throughout the film. The longest shows Theo navigating his way through a battlefield of a wasteland, trying to find Kee. At one point during, blood splats onto the frame. Usually when something like this happens, it takes away from the film, it “breaks the 4th wall.” In this case, it adds to the suspense of the scene. If you’ve seen the film, or don’t care about spoilers, it can be seen here: https://youtu.be/twcKoAQ7HIg . The score of the film is brilliant, providing the right mood for the scene, be it eerie or frightening. The acting in the film is fantastic. Clive Owen is superb in the main role, as he brings the right amount of emotion and physicality to the role. There are often moments where he doesn’t speak, but you can still tell exactly what’s going through the character’s mind. I’m quite a fan of Michael Caine. I was brought up watching The Italian Job, and I’ve seen him in other films since then, but when I first saw this film, I was shocked. I’ve never seen Michael Caine act like he is as Jasper, a former political cartoonist. His character is perfectly fitted in the film, providing an outside view of the world they live in from his isolated house in the forest. The character of Kee goes through all the emotions. Stubborn at first, sometimes child-like, scared, brave, but ultimately feels like she’s been thrust into a position she does not want to be in. Children of Men is one of the greatest films ever made, and I recommend that everyone should watch it at least twice.