1048. Children of Men

Children of Men
2006
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron

I thought we would continue with our trend of apocalyptic films with Children of Men, which offers a much drearier, but much better take on the decline of humanity than Mad Max. Also I have a crush on Julianne Moore, so we need to talk about her as much as possible.

It's 2027 and society is crumbling due to an infertility crisis. Since the UK is one of the few still functioning nations, they are being flooded by refugees seeking asylum from other war torn nations. Theo is a civil servant who is enlisted by his ex wife Julian to acquire papers for Kee, a young refugee.

It's actually odd how similar this film is to Mad Max. Both movies deify the pregnant female and have a hardened, sexy male lead who is desperately trying to defend her/them. Of course, I much prefer this film. Cuaron does so many interesting things with this story and I am now slightly embarrassed I only know him from Harry Potter. For example, never showing Theo touch a gun. Subtle, but says volumes about Theo's character.

The aesthetic was also very cool. London didn't even look that different than it does now, just slightly gloomier so the story was all the more chilling. With male sperm counts on the decline, perhaps this is our future! If it means following the leadership of Julianne Moore, I'm not too fussed.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In the novel the infertility crisis is caused by the men, but in the movie, the women are infertile. Sure, throw us under the bus, Cuaron.

Almost every shot has an animal.

Michael Caine based his performance off of John Lennon.