Children of Men - Discussion thread (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

World population: 6.5 billion
Half of the world population: 3.2 billion
Population of the United Kingdom: 60.5 million

Since the film informs us that every nation collapsed except for England, that still leaves more than 3.1 billion poor, starving and insanely desperate people. That seems like a hell of an immigration problem to me.

 

[Sam Favate]

I enjoyed the background stuff, like the moving billboards on the sides of buses and buildings, all things where we know the technology is going to get there very soon and we can expect to see them in a few years. Much like Blade Runner's neon city -- been to Times Square lately?

 

[Don Giro]

My feelings exactly. "I'm watching a 'more human' Half Life 2" is what kept going through my head as the film progressed. The film has exactly the same "atmosphere." Great film.

 

[Holadem]

That bothered me too. But in retrospect, I look at it this way: the (presumably) low level commander(s) on site lacked the initiative to make the right decision right there and then i.e., assign a detail to the child, or at least hold them till while they notify the powers that be. It happens, not everyone is competent at their job, and even fewer can react appropriately in the face of a momentous event.

--
H

 

[Tim Glover]

I think that kind of represents the chaos of War to some degree...a simple explanation for sure....but maybe that was part of the reason.

 

[Norm]

So what's the UK to do? Let in the 3.1 Billion even if it means the UK will collapse as well. What's the director trying to tell me? As far as I can tell the UK had no choice but to seal its borders & keep people out. You just can't have an uncontrolled flow of people hopping from one country to another, those countries will fall like domino's in that situation & I bet that's what happened in the movie to some of the other countries before they fell apart. The UK had an advantage they were surrounded by water.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Exactly. The immigration restrictions - and indeed the need for them - are both symbols of human decay for this movie.

 

[Tim Glover]

Took in a late afternoon showing of Children of Men today. This was my second time. Wow. Even more powerful than before. This might just be the best film of 2006. Got to change some order in my top 10 list

Gut wrenching, brutally sad at times, tragic, and yet hopeful. The drama played out on screen is incredibly effective.

Clive Owen gives his performance of a lifetime in this and GREAT things are in store for this actor. I was absorbed. When he breaks down and sobs behind the tree after Julian's death made tears come down my face.

I have raised my initial rating from 9.5/10 to a 10+/10.

I hope this garners many Oscar nominations.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I fear Babel will snatch away the Oscar noms that CoM could be garnering, but that doesn't take away from CoM being my co-#1 film for 2006, such is life.

 

[rich_d]

I haven't seen Babel yet. I mean if it's great, it's great.

However, having won the Golden Globes just hurt not helped Babel's chances.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Babel is good, not great, but I digress.

I read that it took 9 people outside and on top of the car to film the car scene of the gang (Julian, Theo, Kee, the midwife, and Luke) driving through the countryside before they get ambushed. The camerawork in the scene is pretty nifty because you truly feel like you are in the car with the rest of the characters when all hell breaks loose.

 

[ZackR]

I agree completely. I almost felt as if the director was trying to make a correlation/comparison with the current immigration debate in the USA. How dare the evil British government try to protect itself, its citizens and its borders!!

That minor quibble aside, this film blew me away. I finally saw it this week and it is absolutely my favorite film of the year - no comparison. From the opening sequence, I was completely sucked in. It is an incredible movie that I will recommend to everyone. It can be brutal, but it is just fantastic. I cannot wait to see it again.

 

[MikeRS]

The film works best as an experience movie from my perspective. What I mean is, the film's strength lies in it's ability to present mise-en-scène so utterly real and detailed (it truly felt like a fully realized reality, no seams), and then topping that off by absolving any kind of distance between Clive Owen and the audience's perception of that world (through superb cinematic/technical craftsmanship).

This 'experience' felt so real to me, and the world so bleak, that I kinda wanted the film to end 2/3rds of the way through. That's a compliment. My recollection of the film truly feels much more like a memory of "a place I was", rather than a "drama I observed". Quite uncanny.

The actual characterization of Theo takes a backseat because of the above, but I'm not sure this is a "flaw" yet.


The battle/pyrotechnics/extended long shot sequences were more impressive than Scott's work on "Black Hawk Down", but not on the level of Spielberg's mastery in "Ryan".

 

[Norm]

I think in a way it backfires on him because the UK has a right to prevent itself from invasion. Not all invasions need military commanders, tanks & guns. Even though they all didn't have weapons. The UK was being overwhelmed by masses of people. I'm guessing these armed enclaves inside the UK were in effect a causing civil war.

 

[ZackR]

I'm with you all the way. Also, MikeRS, you are right on when you say it felt like a place you had been. That was my experience. I cannot recall another film that so literally pulled me into the world the filmmaker had created. Masterful work.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think the point was to ask the questions. The UK has a right to prevent itself from invasion. But when you're keeping the vast majority of the world's population out, it only makes sense that you're keeping out the miracle too. It's a sheer numbers game. 3.2 billion outside the United Kingdom; 60.5 million inside. Statistically speaking, the one woman with a working uterus is going to be on the outside. What's the right answer then? Is there one? Do the rights of the citizens of the UK to live out their final decades in security and relative stability outweight the right of the species to survive. I think it's to the movie's credit that it asks these questions.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

CoM didn't provide any answers on immigration (clearly an important issue for Cuaron)...just pointed out the question and the human element. I appreciated the ideological eschewing CoM did for simple human decency.

 

[rich_d]

Well, her working uterus is her working uterus whether it is in the U.K. or elsewhere. Therefore, U.K. immigration policy has no direct bearing on the species surviving.

Therefore, translating a working uterus to the value delivered by a liberal immigration policy seems fairly weak to me.

One could make a case that an earlier liberal U.K. immigration policy led to a unsettling future.

My personal view is toward the middle.

 

[JediFonger]

i'm disappointed CoM didn't get nominated in best pic! it's easily the best film of the year even besting departed+iwojima.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Me too. I'm even more disappointed that Alfonso didn't get a director nom.