Review: Children of Men (2006)
Children of Men takes place only a few years in the future (about 21 at the time of release). It’s a harsh world that Alfonso Cuaron has created but not unlikely given the events leading up to it. It’s been 18 years since the last birth and humanity is facing extinction as everyone continues to age. Out of this dystopian, war-torn landscape appears a young woman who is 8 months pregnant. The underground rebel group called the The Fishes wants to keep her away from the government’s prying eyes. And the mysterious scientific, research group called The Human Project wants to study her to save mankind. This all hinges on Theo Faron played well by Clive Owen. He is an activist turned cubicle drone and turns into the unlikely protector of humanity’s future.
Cuaron is successful at creating a future that no one would want, and he weaves through it with this story of savior and protector that is ultimately believable because it has to succeed. I appreciated a realistic world where cars may not start when trying to make a fast getaway; where you can’t find shoes that fit because you didn’t have time to pack; where you lose a few friends along the way. Little things like that helped to draw me in and make me want to see them survive. It also had one of the more moving scenes that I’ve come across in a movie, where they walk right through an intense fire fight between rebels and soldiers.
The movie also stars Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Juliane Moore.
See it.