Drool on the Frog

Friday, February 02, 2007

Willa's Flic Pic: Children of Men * * *

Children of Men
Children of Men

Alfonso Cuarón, 2006
Drama, Sci-Fi
***



TV Reporter: The world was stunned today by the death of Diego Ricardo, the youngest person on the planet, the youngest person on earth was 18 years, 4 months, 20 days, 16 hours, and 8 minutes old.


I attempted to write a description of this film a number of times and my last version has been lost entirely. I'll save time and simply give you IMDB's brief description:

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.


I think the main challenge in making this film was to communicate what a world would feel like once it was completely without children. Avoiding overly complicated sub-plots, it describes how a nation, various factions and individual citizens live with and react to this ever-pressing knowledge. I think Children of Men does a fantastic job with this challenge portraying a hopeless, violent and desperate world.

Through color and texture they depict a dirty, unkempt society. There are no real attempts to put up a pretense of joy or happiness with uses of yellow or orange or purple. And the grit and mud and blood are all over you all the time. Given this, it is a beautifully made film the way it intricately paints this inconceivable and pervasive mood of despair.

The film is shot mostly in a documentary style with rustic credits and handheld sequences where blood and dirt actually splatter the lens. All of this pulls the audience in more not just as an observer but also as a participant.

This is not a feel good film but it doesn't leave you depressed. More thankful. It makes you look at life and appreciate what we take for granted everyday – parents and siblings and children. And a future.

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