Some movies grab a hold of you quickly and don’t let you go until the lights come up and you leave the theater, if then. “Children of Men” is one of those movies. It will haunt you for days with its dark vision of a future gone mad and the flashes of beauty and hope that hide there.

The film, based on a novel by P.D. James, imagines a world where women have been rendered infertile and the world hasn’t seen a baby in 18 years. Terrorism, disease and more atrocities have broken much of the world down, but England remains. It is dirty and riddled with trash, graffiti, violence and waves of illegal immigrants seeking sanctuary. We are introduced to Theo (Clive Owen) a man who, like England, has been besieged by tragedy but still motors on. Theo has a government desk job and gets by thanks to the numbing assistance of the contents of his flask.

He is brought out of his current state when his ex-wife, a rebellion leader, asks him to help her procure traveling papers for a friend. What she really wants is for Theo to help a young, pregnant girl, Kee, find sanctuary with The Human Project, and soon Theo and Kee are off on an adventure trying to navigate their way through a very dangerous political climate to safety.

Owen is excellent as Theo, a man broken by a depressing life, and healed through his noble actions as the film progresses. He is a knight of sorts and his redemption is just one of the glimpses of hope that director Alfonso Cuaron offers in this stunning film. Despite all of the darkness that is in the film, and a lot of it is very dark and depressing, there is always hope and the hope lies in humanity and the relationships that we share.

“Children of Men” benefits from Cuaron’s distinct vision and amazing cinematography. The details in the film are amazing and I’m sure on repeated viewings there is even more to discover. The film also boasts a terrific cast aside from Owen. Michael Caine as Theo’s hippy friend is a delight and Julianne Moore gives the film another boost with her turn as an activist leader. The rest of the film features many people that aren’t big names, which actually makes the film even more believable than it already is.

This movie, although it features a somewhat far-fetched sci-fi type premise, feels very grounded in reality. We only have to look as far as the evening news to see things like refugee camps, terrorism and genocide and Cuaron has created a world where that is the norm and people like Theo have almost gotten used to the horrors they see every day. They are waiting to die and they know the world will likely die with them. And yet, there is always hope and Cuaron shows that we can all be redeemed by our actions.

****1/2

login to post comments