Children of Men

Based on PD James' novel this movie stars Clive Owen and the short lived Julianne Moore. Anything with Clive Owen serves as a hit for me, even King Arthur. The story takes place in a dystopian society where women are unable to become pregnant for unexplained reasons, but one can conclude it came as a result of man's mistake in one way or another that they have brought themselves or from a higher power. For example, the film's title is derived from Psalm 90:3: "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men." The movie lightly graces us with the theories as to why this is happening but the fact of the matter is, and what makes the movie even more compelling is that it doesn't matter, or there are bigger issues at play. Not only are you caught asking other questions right away, waiting for their answer as you watch, but the smaller detailed questions overshadow the big picture which is what makes the film watchable again and again.

For example, instead of asking the obvious question as to why women cannot become pregnant, you are caught up in the ripples of its cause and start swimming in questions that cause the viewer to explore parallels in modern society. The film makes a strong statement in regards to the anti-immigration sentiment in modern societies like the UK and USA. Flocking to the UK because of the state that their own nations have come to, the immigrants in the film are marginalized, caged up, deported and even executed to express the chaos, disintegration of society and assimilation of a higher, more righteous race and/or nation.

The film's director took great care in placing subtle images from contemporary history and placed them into the film to prove that, though this is a fictional story, these monstrosities are indeed happening and have happened before our eyes. For example the director states:

"They exit the Russian apartments, and the next shot you see is this woman wailing, holding the body of her son in her arms. This was a reference to a real photograph of a woman holding the body of her son in the Balkans, crying with the corpse of her son. It's very obvious that when the photographer captured that photograph, he was referencing La Pieta, the Michelangelo sculpture of Mary holding the corpse of Jesus. So: We have a reference to something that really happened, in the Balkans, which is itself a reference to the Michelangelo sculpture. At the same time, we use the sculpture of David early on, which is also by Michelangelo, and we have of course the whole reference to the Nativity. And so everything was referencing and cross-referencing, as much as we could"

Specifically the director has provided multiple subtle references to the holocaust from the execution methods seen and used in the film to the scene where an elderly refugee woman speaking German is seen detained in a cage.

Despite the subtle contemporary parallels, the highly innovative single-shot action sequences are perhaps the most memorable parts of the direction of the film. It is incredible to see the main character, Theo run from the chaotic streets in the refugee camp as he is transporting Kee the pregnant girl to safety as they encounter a very realistic point of view. At one point Theo gets shot in the leg and blood spatters onto the screen. The splatter of blood does not leave the screen for a couple minutes after Theo is able to catch his breath. It gave me the sense that if I were there I would have blood on my face following Theo and wouldn't have the chance to wipe it off until the same moment that Theo has to catch his breath. This first person type of editing is also used in the audio as gunfire is shot near Theo and the chasing camera, so as a result the sound is very limited and ringing for a period of time it would take to recover your hearing after being so close to gunfire. This type of audio technique with gunfire is becoming popular and used in other movies as well, I love it.

The best part of the film in my opinion is when Theo is able to rescue Kee from a building facing gunfire as she is holding the baby she gave birth to the night earlier. The baby won't stop crying and as a result the mere sound of something that we can't stand to hear ironically becomes the sound that stops the gunfire and everyone suddenly tunes into. It is here that I believe everyone stops not only because they haven't heard the sound of a baby in decades but they wonder for a moment what they are even fighting for with the flicker of hope passing them in a baby's cry the hope leaves them as the baby gets carried out of sight and the fighting then continues.

The theme of hope is what I will conclude with. The film has been categorized as a modern-day Nativity story. The character of Kee represents Mary and Kee's pregnancy is revealed to Theo in a barn, alluding to the manger of the Nativity scene, and when other characters discover Kee and her baby, they respond with "Jesus Christ" or the sign of the cross, even going on their knees when they see it. Throughout the entire movie the main goal is to reach a meeting place of something called "the human project." Almost nothing is revealed about this organization except that it will bring not only salvation for our protagonists but to the entire earth. The human project then is the ultimate metaphor for hope, salvation and if you buy into the film being a modern day Nativity story, it is a metaphor for heaven which can be attained by humankind (to stretch the metaphor further) only with the sacrifice of the very human man Theo who sacrifices himself for mankind's salvation. The movie concludes with the sound of playing children which alludes to the hope that someday there will be children again.

CONSENSUS:

Rotten Tomatoes give this move a 92% rating

Zoom In Analysis will AGREE with this rating although it might be a little too high

Seamless and award-worthy continuity editing. Realistic, innovative action, a captivating depiction of the future and flawless acting make this a must see and a great addition to the Blu-ray collection.