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Children of Men
File:Children Of Men 3.jpg
Children of Men poster
Directed byAlfonso Cuarón
Written byP.D. James
(novel)
Alfonso Cuarón
Timothy J. Sexton
Clive Owen
(screenplay)
StarringClive Owen
Julianne Moore
Michael Caine
Claire-Hope Ashitey
Pam Ferris
Chiwetel Ejiofor
CinematographyEmmanuel Lubezki
Music byJohn Tavener
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
2006-09-22 (UK)
2006-12-25 (USA, limited release)
2007-01-05 (USA wide release)
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million[1]

Children of Men is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 dystopian thriller film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, loosely adapted from P.D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men. The cast includes Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Sir Michael Caine.

The film portrays London in the year 2027, in a world where the human female population has become infertile. The last aging generation has lost hope for the future and human societies have fallen apart. Waves of refugees descend upon Great Britain, which has become a police state, where all foreigners are declared illegal immigrants and subject to deportation or sent to internment camps.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler It is November 16th 2027, and reports of the murder of "Baby Diego", the youngest person on the planet, are broadcast around the world. Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a former political activist turned bureaucrat, appears apathetic to the news. A bomb explodes as Theo leaves a café, the government later blaming the attack on "The Fishes", a terrorist group that fights for immigrant rights. Shaken by the bombing, Theo visits his friend, Jasper (Michael Caine), a former political cartoonist living in the countryside with his semi-catatonic wife. Newspaper clippings suggest that his wife, a former reporter, was tortured by MI5. Jasper is engaged in the illegal cultivation and distribution of cannabis to the Bexhill refugee internment camp.

Upon his return to London, Theo is kidnapped by The Fishes, led by his ex-wife Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore), who offers Theo £5,000 in exchange for a travel permit for a young Fijian refugee girl named Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey). To obtain the permits, Theo visits his cousin Nigel (Danny Huston), a high-ranking government minister and curator of the "Ark of Arts", a depository for rescued art. Theo receives the papers, but they stipulate that he must accompany Kee. A member of The Fishes named Luke (Chiwetel Ejiofor), drives Theo, Kee, Julian, and Miriam (Pam Ferris) towards the first security checkpoint, but they are ambushed; Julian is shot in the neck and dies. On the run from the police, they escape to a safe house where Luke is appointed the new leader.

File:86339005,8DEF2C503DF6D3B5961.jpg
Owen and Moore

Kee reveals the purpose of her journey to Theo: she is pregnant. Luke and the The Fishes originally intended to take Kee to "The Human Project", a group of scientists dedicated to curing infertility, but with Julian dead, Luke proposes keeping Kee with The Fishes, and she chooses to stay until after the baby is born. Theo wishes to go public, but The Fishes argue that Kee's baby will be taken by the government and used for their benefit. Just before dawn, Theo awakens to overhear Luke revealing that he staged the ambush to assassinate Julian, allowing him to use Kee's baby as a political tool for his cause. Luke gives orders for Theo to be killed, but Theo escapes to Jasper's house with Kee and Miriam. At Jasper's, Miriam explains the rendezvous with the Human Project's ship Tomorrow is scheduled at a buoy offshore from the Bexhill refugee camp. Jasper hatches a plan to smuggle them into the camp with the help of Syd, his corrupt police contact. The Fishes discover Jasper's hideout, and Jasper stays behind to help the group escape. Jasper is shot to death when he refuses to reveal Kee's destination. Theo, Miriam, and Kee flee to an abandoned school to meet Syd (Peter Mullan). Syd arrives and drives them to Bexhill, but Kee begins having contractions; the three are loaded onto a refugee bus and taken to the camp; Kee goes into labour as they arrive. Miriam distracts a guard from noticing Kee, and gets dragged off the bus into detention. Theo and Kee enter Bexhill and meet Syd's contact, Marichka, an old gypsy who provides them with a room where Kee gives birth to a baby girl. The next morning, the Fishes break into Bexhill, attempting to capture Kee and her baby. A camp uprising gains momentum, and the British Army moves in to quell the rebellion.

File:CoMPicture.jpg
Theo and Kee, played by Owen and Ashitey respectively

Syd arrives and betrays Theo and Kee in order to collect a large bounty. With Marichka's help, they fight off Syd and escape, trying to obtain a boat to meet The Human Project ship. The Fishes capture them, but before they can kill Theo and Marichka, a gunfight with the military ensues, and in the chaos, all are separated. Theo tracks The Fishes to a building, where he finds Luke, Kee and the baby. Theo frees them, but Luke shoots at Theo, just before a tank shell obliterates the room. When the combatants hear the baby's cry, the gunfire and the firefight stops. When Theo, Kee and the baby leave the building, they are greeted with awe and wonder. Some of the women touch the baby, while some soldiers make the sign of the cross. However, the silence is broken by a rebel grenade, and the fight resumes as Theo, Kee, and the baby rejoin Marichka and make their way to a small boat. Marichka declines to join them, and they row out to the rendezvous point. Military jets pass overhead and the sky glows as Bexhill is bombed. Kee panics when she sees blood in the boat, but the blood is in fact Theo's, who has been severely wounded during their escape. Kee says she will name her baby Dylan, and Theo smiles before slumping over in the boat as the Tomorrow emerges from the thick fog, unsmiling people on her decks moving towards Kee and her child.

Production

File:CoMBehindTheScenesPic.jpg
Owen, Lubezki, and Cuarón on the set

Director Alfonso Cuarón and screenwriter Timothy J. Sexton began the screenplay for Children of Men after the director completed Y tu mamá también (2001). Cuarón did not immediately begin production, instead directing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). The director's work experience in the United Kingdom exposed him to the "social dynamics of the British psyche", giving him insight into the depiction of "British reality".[2] Cuarón cast Clive Owen into the lead role of the film in April, 2005,[3] and Julianne Moore was cast in June.[4]

Cuarón used The Battle of Algiers (1967) as a model for social reconstruction in preparation for production, presenting the film to Clive Owen as an example of his vision for Children of Men. In order to create a philosophical and social framework for the film, the director read literature by Slavoj Žižek and other similar works.[5] The Swiss film Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), a favorite of Cuarón's, also influenced the visual style of Children of Men, including bravura sequences. Cuarón reminisces: "I was studying cinema when I first saw [Jonah], and interested in the French New Wave. Jonah was so unflashy compared to those films. The camera keeps a certain distance and there are relatively few close-ups. It's elegant and flowing, constantly tracking, but very slowly and not calling attention to itself."[6]

The films Sunrise (1927) and A Clockwork Orange (1971) were influential, with the latter helping to shape the futuristic yet battered look of London.[7] The director also designed cars to resemble the ones of today at a brief glance, though a closer look reflected an unfamiliarity with the vehicles. He also addressed the design of billboards by balancing a contemporary and futuristic look.[8] However, Cuarón downplayed the science fiction elements of the 2027 setting. He rejected technologically advanced proposals from the art department and instead focused on images reflecting the contemporary period,[9] choosing to have innovative technology in the film's timeline discontinued by 2014. Essentially, Cuarón was focused on the present: "We didn't want to be distracted by the future. We didn't want to transport the audience into another reality."[10]

Filmed in London, the opening terrorist attack scene on Fleet Street was shot only one-and-a-half months after the London bombings. Cuarón filmed in East London, a location he considered "a place without glamour". He dressed the location's sets to further the rundown appearance to make it "more Mexican", reflecting a sense of poverty in the shooting.[5] The director also filmed at Battersea Power Station as a reference to Tate Modern, and during the scene's framing, he was inspired to add a pig balloon to reference the cover of the Pink Floyd album Animals.[11]

Scenes were shot in long takes with a handheld camera, a challenging, time-consuming process that sparked concerns from the studio: It took five hours to set up the scene for the single take where Clive Owen's character searches a building under attack. The take ended with blood splattered onto the lens, which cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki convinced the director to leave for the final cut. According to Owen, "Right in the thick of it are me and the camera operator because we're doing this very complicated, very specific dance which, when we come to shoot, we have to make feel completely random."[12]

Despite the violence in the film, the director chose to avoid advocating the notion, ensuring that the protagonist Theo Faron did not carry a gun. "We were very concerned not to glorify violence, or the elements of violence," said Cuarón.[13]

The 2 1/2 minute, "roadside ambush"[14] scene was shot in one extended take with a special camera rig invented by Doggicam Systems, developed from Doggicam Systems' Power Slide system.[15] For the scene, a vehicle was modified to enable seats to tilt and lower actors out of the way of the camera. The windshield of the car was designed to tilt out of the way to allow camera movement in and out through the front windscreen. A crew of four, including the DP and camera operator, rode on the roof. Although it has been commonly reported that this scene, and a later 6 minute climactic battle scene took place in one uncut shot,[16] unofficial sources indicate that the battle scene was captured in five separate takes over two locations, and then seamlessly stitched together to give the appearance of a single take.[17]

Originally, Cuarón intended to portray an animatronic baby as Kee's child in the film with the exception of the childbirth scene. In the three-and-a-half minute single take of Kee giving birth, the director hired the VFX company Framestore CFC to create the visual effect of the childbirth. Two takes of the scene were shot, with the second take concealing Claire-Hope Ashitey's legs, replacing them with prosthetic legs. Cuarón was pleased with the results of the effect, and returned to previous shots of the baby in animatronic form and replaced the baby with Framestore's computer-generated form.[18]

Children of Men is the first major motion picture known to legally use a Creative Commons-licensed sample from Freesound in its production. In the credits, the film attributes user thanvannispen for the use of "male_Thijs_loud_scream.aiff".[19]

Themes

Children of Men explores the theme of hope and faith[20] in the face of overwhelming futility and despair.[21][7] The film's source, the novel The Children of Men by P. D. James, describes what happens when society is unable to reproduce, using male infertility to explain this problem.[22][23] The film switches the cause to female infertility, and expands this theme as a metaphor for a diminishing loss of hope for humanity, while the Human Project becomes a metaphor for human understanding.[7] This theme further reflects upon the degradation of the environment[24] and what critic Jason Guerrasio calls "a complex meditation on the politics of today" which highlights the debate on immigration.[14] Ethan Alter observes that the film "makes a potent case against the anti-immigrant sentiment" popular in modern societies like the United Kingdom and the United States.[25] In the film, refugees are "hunted down like cockroaches," rounded up and put into cages and camps, and even shot, leading film critics like Chris Smith and Claudia Puig to observe symbolic "overtones" and images of The Holocaust.[26][21] This theme is reinforced in the scene where the refugee bus enters the internment camp: "Arbeit Macht Frei", a song by The Libertines, plays in the background.[27] "Arbeit macht frei" was written above the entrance of some Nazi concentration camps.

Alter also notes the visual nature of the film's exposition, which occurs in the form of imagery as opposed to dialogue.[25] For example, the refugee camps in the film were intended to visually invoke Abu Ghraib prison, Guantánamo Bay detainment camp, and The Maze.[28] Other popular images appear, such as a prisoner in a pose resembling the photograph of Satar Jabar in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal, and a sign over the refugee camp reading "Homeland Security".[29] The similarity between the hellish, cinéma vérité stylized battle scenes of the film and current news and documentary coverage of the Iraq War, is noted by film critic Manohla Dargis, describing Cuarón's fictional landscapes as "war zones of extraordinary plausibility".[30] Cuarón explains how he uses this imagery to propagate the theme by cross-referencing fictional and futuristic events with real, contemporary, or historical incidents and beliefs:

"They exit the Russian apartments, and the next shot you see is this woman wailing, holding the body of her son in her arms. This was a reference to a real photograph of a woman holding the body of her son in the Balkans, crying with the corpse of her son. It's very obvious that when the photographer captured that photograph, he was referencing La Pieta, the Michelangelo sculpture of Mary holding the corpse of Jesus. So: We have a reference to something that really happened, in the Balkans, which is itself a reference to the Michelangelo sculpture. At the same time, we use the sculpture of David early on, which is also by Michelangelo, and we have of course the whole reference to the Nativity. And so everything was referencing and cross-referencing, as much as we could."[31]

According to Cuarón, the title of P.D. James' book (The Children of Men) is a Catholic allegory derived from a bible quote.[24] (The title is derived from Psalm 90(89):3 of the KJV: "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men."[32]) James refers to her story as a "Christian fable"[22]: Cuarón describes the original story by James as "almost like a look at Christianity", and while Cuarón wasn't interested in adapting the Christian dogma of the novel, the "spiritual archetypes" remained important.[14] To highlight these spiritual themes, Cuarón commissioned a 15-minute piece by British composer John Tavener, an Orthodox Christian whose work resonates with the themes of "motherhood, birth, rebirth, and redemption in the eyes of God." Calling his score a "musical and spiritual reaction to Alfonso's film", snippets of Tavener's "Fragments of a Prayer" are used by Cuarón, with words in Latin, German and Sanskrit sung by a mezzo-soprano. Words like "mata" (mother), "pahi mam" (protect me), "avatara" (saviour), and "alleluia" appear throughout the film.[33][34]

The Sanskrit word for peace, "Shantih", appears three times ("Shantih Shantih Shantih") at the end of the film, after the credits roll. The word is also used at the end of the Upanishads and in the final line of T.S. Eliot's poem, The Waste Land.[35]

Without dictating how the audience should feel by the end of the film, Cuarón encourages viewers to come to their own conclusions about the sense of hope depicted in the final scenes: "We wanted the end to be a glimpse of a possibility of hope, for the audience to invest their own sense of hope into that ending. So if you're a hopeful person you'll see a lot of hope, and if you're a bleak person you'll see a complete hopelessness at the end. [14]

Music

Main article: Children of Men (soundtracks)

There were two soundtracks for the film, one including the actual film score and another playing as a soundtrack with various popular music acts. Two songs that are heard during the movie, "Omgyjya Switch7" by Aphex Twin and "Life in a Glasshouse" by Radiohead are not included on the soundtrack. Furthermore, the track "Map of the Problematique" by Muse and "Hoppipolla" by Sigur Rós were used in TV spots and trailers but were not featured in the film.

Much of the movie's other music takes from various classical music pieces, including Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and predominantly from John Tavener. The poetry of William Blake is featured in the lyrics to "Eternity's Sunrise", a work Tavener had previously written and dedicated to Princess Diana after her death.[citation needed]

Reception

Children of Men held its world premiere at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2006.[36] On September 22, 2006, Children of Men debuted at #1 in the United Kingdom with $2.4 million in 368 screens.[37] The film debuted in a limited release in the United States on December 22, 2006 in 16 theaters, expanding the number of theaters to over 1,200 on January 5, 2007.[38]

As of February 4, 2007, Children of Men grossed $65,785,000 worldwide, with $32,785,000 of the revenue generated in the United States.[39]

On Rotten Tomatoes, Children of Men has a 91% overall approval out of 176 reviews from critics,[40] and on Metacritic, the film has 84% approval out of 36 reviews.[41]

Awards

The film was awarded the 2006 USC Scripter Award.[42]

Nominations:

Notes

  1. ^ Barlow, Helen (2006-10-13). "Gone to pot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-01-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Edward Douglas (2006-12-08). "Exclusive: Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Gabriel Snyder (2005-04-27). "Owen having U's children". Variety. Retrieved 2007-02-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Gabriel Snyder (2005-06-15). "Moore makes way to U's 'Children'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-02-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b "'Children of Men' feature". Time Out. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Film-makers on film: Alfonso Cuarón". The Daily Telegraph. 2006-09-30. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c Wells, Jeffrey (2006-11-01). "Interview with Alfonso Cuarón". Hollywood Elsewhere. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Sheila Roberts (2006-12-19). "Alfonso Cuarón Interview, Director of Children of Men". MoviesOnline.ca. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Caroline Briggs (2006-09-20). "Movie imagines world gone wrong". BBC. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ John Horn (2006-12-19). "There's no place like hell for the holidays". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Devin Faraci (2007-01-04). "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ALFONSO CUARON (CHILDREN OF MEN)". CHUD.com. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Claire Sutherland (2006-10-19). "Clive's happy with career". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Director says "Children of Men" set in a future, violent world that reflects present". International Herald Tribune. 2006-09-03. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d Guerrasio, Jason (2006-12-22). "A New Humanity". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Two Axis Dolly". Doggicam Systems. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  16. ^ Murray, Steve (2006-12-29). "Anatomy of a Scene". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  17. ^ Bielik, Alain (2006-12-27). "Children of Men: Invisible VFX for a Future in Decay". VFXWorld. Retrieved 2007-01-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Framestore CFC Delivers Children of Men". VFXWorld. 2006-10-16. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ de Jong, B (2007-01-13). "Major motion picture using Freesound sample!!!". The Freesound Project Announcements / News. The Freesound Project. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Cuaron Mulls SF Film". Sci Fi Wire. 2004-05-27. Retrieved 2007-02-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ a b Puig, Claudia (2006-12-21). "'Children of Men' sends stark message". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ a b "You ask the questions: P D James". The Independent. 2001-03-14. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Seshadri, B. (1995-02-01). "Male infertility and world population". Contemporary Review. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ a b von Busack, Richard (2007-01-10). "Making the Future: Richard von Busack talks to Alfonso Cuarón about filming 'Children of Men'". Metroactive. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ a b Alter, Ethan. "Reviews:Children of Men". Film Journal International. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  26. ^ Smith, Chris (2007-01-01). "'Children of Men' a dark film, and one of 2006's best". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2007-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Herrmann, Zachary (2006-12-14). "Championing the Children". The Diamondback. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
  28. ^ Weiland, Jonah. "Interview with "Children of Men" Director Alfonso Cuarón". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  29. ^ Bennett, Ray (2006-09-04). "Children of Men". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-01-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Dargis, Manohla (2006-12-25). "Apocalypse Now, but in the Wasteland a Child Is Given". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Voynar, Kim (2006-12-25). "Interview: Children of Men Director Alfonso Cuarón". Cinematical. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ See Wikisource
  33. ^ Broxton, Jonathan (2007-01-17). "Children of Men". Movie Music UK. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  34. ^ Crust, Kevin. "Unconventional soundscape in `Children of Men'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  35. ^ Andrew Kozma (2007-01-16). "Children of Men : Review". RevolutionSF.com. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Programme for pass holders and the public" (PDF). Venice International Film Festival. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  37. ^ Conor Bresnan (2006-09-25). "Around the World Roundup: 'Perfume' Wafts Past 'Pirates'". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ Ian Mohr (2007-01-04). "'Men' takes a bigger bow". Variety. Retrieved 2007-02-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ "Children of Men (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  40. ^ "Children of Men (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  41. ^ "Children of Men (2006): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  42. ^ "19th-Annual USC Libraries Scripter® Award Finalists Announced". Scripter Press releases. University of Southern California. 2007-01-05. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  43. ^ "Road to the Oscars 07". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
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