In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
dystopia despair future government police state based on novel or book hippie england faith chaos refugee camp rebel miracle childlessness survival birth alcoholic bombing dying terrorist group fertility soldiers violence dystopian sci-fi
mouseman reviewed Children of Men (2006)
Simply Beautiful
Children of Men is one of those movies that will haunt you for days to come after you've seen it. I was obsessed with the movie and wanted to watch it another time straight through after the credits.
The movie is set into the near future and it paints a bleak image. Human race is dying out because of infertility - no one's able to have children and the youngest human being is 18 years old and because of that, a celebrity.
These unusual conditions affect human lives throughout the world. It is done beautifully. We have the sheltered, culture-loving elite, the mobs living in the forest and everything in between. One of the main themes is the struggle between some underground resistance movements and the legal U.K. government which has taken a turn towards an authorative police state.
The main character, Theo, is thrown into this power struggle and his main goal is to stay alive which isn't easy given the circumstances. An intriguing antihero rises to meet the challenges he can't seem to escape. The themes change from adventure-type action to warfare, but there's plenty of space left to the character dialogue to make them feel real. All the action sequences are nicely done, no superhero stunts found here.
Like the action in the movie, the movie itself feels more real than a document even though it's sci-fi. It's truly a remarkable achievement even to a movie based on a true story and I've not had that feeling of reality in any fantasy or sci-fi movie before.
The acting, the plot, the soundtrack and visuals are all good but what makes the movie great is not found in the central parts of the movie, but rather around them. In almost all of the scenes there's something happening in the background. When Theo has a meeting with a member of the elite, we are shown this vast park which culminates the elite lifestyle - we see a green, clean park opposed to the greyness and filth on the outside. We even see zebras as pets of the elite disconnected from the outside world of despair. The scene is really short, about 30 seconds, there's no dialogue and it could've been completely left out and no one would have noticed. But the scene told the viewer much more than any epic lore told with a trailer voice in the beginning of the movie ever could have.
And it's not just one scene, the whole movie is filled with details from advertisement in the streets to clothing, customs and more. I've got a feeling that the makers of the movie didn't ask "what has to be done" and "what can be left out" but rather "what we can do to make this movie best it can be" and it really shows. The Children of Men universe is done so beautifully it left me wanting for more.
The movie tells much about humanity and our way to react to crisis. It's not a fun movie to watch and certainly some people want to shut out the unpleasant implications the movie has. But if you want to see a touching and serious movie with great, realistic action and an original plot, Children of Men is the one for you. I especially recommend this movie to everyone who are interested in human mind, history and near future apocalyptic sci-fi.
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