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Children of Men February 13, 2007 |
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Set in England in the year 2027, director Alfonso Cuaron’s adaptation of an apocalyptic P.D. James Sci-Fi novel isn’t for the faint of heart, for it’s story of human survival in a world where reproduction has been eradicated by disease offers a chilling, disturbing, and prescient look at humanity in the not too distant future. Clive Owen stars as an innocent citizen who gets caught up in a dangerous chase when he finds himself caring for a pregnant woman, a miracle that the radicals want to leverage power against the totalitarian government, and the peace moment wants to study and save human existence. The struggle culminates in a rundown ghetto, filmed in a brilliant guerrilla warfare style reminiscent of the French masterpiece “The Battle of Algiers”, where the outskirts of London is reduced to little more than a third world refuge camp, teeming with poverty, disillusionment, and finally, after much death and fighting, a brief ray of hope that makes the entire journey that much easier to handle. Cuaron is a talented director, capable of wearing multiple hats, from the Mexican road trip drama “Y Tu Mama Tambien”, to the magical delights of the best Harry Potter film, ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’, but this may be his most skilled and detailed film yet, filled with stunning long takes and carefully crafted set-ups, and it’s a testament to the screenplay (nominated for an Oscar) that this bleak, ultimately dystopian examination of a human existence in an Orwellian nightmare offers one final prayer for peace, and the future of mankind, in dangerous and difficult times. by Adam Suraf |