There’s truly never been a film quite like Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men. It’s a visionary feature that portrays a world of tomorrow plagued with tragedy and political upheaval. Yet, the movie has none of the goofy, indulgent slick and shiny clichéd perceptions of what’s to come that can be seen in typical sc-fi fare. It’s a future that’s made technological advances, but still remains inherently human. The basic principals are still the same no matter changes. It’s not a place of teleportation devices and flying cars. It’s a world where people still buy coffee in the morning and drive to work. Cuarón has sustained every ounce of banal life in his vision and made a future that feels tangible, and frighteningly possible.Cuarón makes the unexpected and brilliant decision to film his sci-fi epic with messy handheld camera work and gritty, realistic costume and set designs. He puts tireless effort into sucking the heroism and grandiosity out of anything that threatens to be conventional or untrue. When Theo (Clive Owen) tries to make a getaway in a stolen car, Cuarón turns the daring escape into a moment that is both comedic and painfully real. The car won’t start and Theo pushes it clumsily along over and over again, losing his shoes in the process. It’s a great thing to do to one’s protagonist. He no longer reeks of bogus efficiency and instead comes off as a sympathetic guy stuck in a tough situation. Cuarón paints Theo as an unlikely but earnest messiah figure, the savior of the world in flip flop sandals. It’s all just so brilliantly pure and simple that I can’t comprehend anyone not falling in love with this film for all of its passion and textured detail.
The main narrative revolves around Theo’s quest to transport Kee, the only pregnant woman in a world that has been infertile for 18 years, to a humanitarian organization working to salvage the human race. The world has stumbled into utter crisis due to its impending demise and England has become one of the few countries remaining with a decent standard of living. Its borders have grown viciously tight and its citizens increasingly antagonistic, but it remains the last surviving civilized society nonetheless.
The story itself is sparse. We’re left with just one objective: get Kee to safety. The rest of film takes shape as a result of the many complications on the journey toward resolution. It’s an insane blend of philosophical angst, harrowing emotions, and outright explosive action sequences. However, everything comes laced with a unifying level of honesty and humility. The movie’s greatest charm is in the way that it defies expectations and occupies a world that feels as complicated and absurd as the one we live in today. Everything going on here comes as a crushing surprise and the way this film sees the year 2027 could rattle just about anyone. There’s still such a hope and such a vivid sense of humanity underscoring all of the devastation, but it remains a difficult sight to behold. It’s nearly impossible to fully describe this movie, but I could not recommend it more. It is honestly a movie experience that you’ll remember not soon forget.
Grade: A+
1 comments:
Hi
I must say I share most of your comments on this excellent movie.
I have seen it 4 times a few months ago and now I’m waiting for the release on DVD. I can’t explain why I’m absolutely fascinated by this movie. I think your comment is doing a much better job in that. In many ways it has been one of the best movies I have seen in years and it’s the first time in my life I got almost addicted to one.
It’s just so plausible. I think, if you would have asked Cuaron in 1985 to make a movie set in 2006, he would have done a good job in creating a very plausible 2006. There is a difference between realistic and plausible in a way that nobody can predict the future and create a realistic one. But you can try to design one that looks and feels like it, which is what Cuaron managed to do superbly. He surely has an eye for detail. It would have been easy for him to get trapped in the urge to explain everything that has happened. The main part of the audience nowadays has a hunger for explicitness. They want everything clear and explained. “Why this and why that?”
Of course, it’s tempting to start challenging certain facts about the movie, like “How come old people look the same in 20 years as they do now? I see so many people walking around with tattoos and piercings, so how come the old people of 2027 look exactly the same as the old people of 2006?” or “How do you explain that women can have no more children? And so what? Can't we just clone people then?"
Cuaron chooses wisely to steer away from being too explicative. It would do the movie no good. The story is not about how women lost the ability to have children. It is about the result. And yet, in a way maybe not even that. “The world went to shit. And you know, it went to shit even before the entire infertility thing started.” The words of an activist gone cynical a long time ago.
I don’t know which part I like best. I like the scene where Theo arrives in the office. In the background you see desks and chairs packed in plastic, which suggests that staff that leaves is not replaced. Theo then goes to ask his boss if he can leave. The man is in the process to swallow some pills and looks at Theo as if he is surprised people still show up for work at all. After that you see the chilling sequence of disasters that took place in the world, followed by the ominuous ‘The world has collapsed. Only Britain soldiers on.’ Speaking about detail: you can hear the same sequence of announcements and advertisement on the bus (‘report illegal immigrants’, ‘quietus’ and ‘the world has collapsed’ on different occasions.
There is the scene where a pristine Rolls ‘rolls’ through the desolate London of 2027 on the tones of ‘The Court of the Crimson King’.
The fact that some of the caught illegal immigrants speak German is more than a gimmick, in a future where the British army seems to have adopted the nazi-industrial methods to process ‘fugis’.
The actions scenes that seem to be taken in one shot with a handheld camera.
Well, there is too much to sum up here. Let me just cut it short :) It is a work of art and it should be treated that way. It should be admired and respected and lead to thought and not challenged for lack of explanation or credibility.
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