In the future women have stopped giving birth, and the human race is slowly dying out. As the film opens, the youngest person on Earth has just been killed, murdered by an unruly mob looking for his autograph. And his death casts a long shadow over the denizens of this dystopia the way celebrity deaths seem to do for some mysterious reason.
The opening shot is like something from Touch of Evil. Director Cuaron punctuates his film with complex tracking shots that erupt spontaneously in horror and violence. Cuaron has drawn from a rich well of inspiration and it’s not the typical sci-fi stuff. Touch of Evil, I Cuba, and Battle of Algiers are all recalled. I’ll go so far as to say that no film this year utilizes it’s camera and sound design as effectively. There are at least four classic scenes etched into my brain that I wouldn’t dream spoiling.
Like the best of sci-fi Children of Men manages to tell us about ourselves, who we are and where we’re going. The movie shows us humanity at it’s most desperate and profane but also humanity at it’s most noble. This is an apocalyptic dystopia interrupted by fleeting oases of tranquility.
As Bartholomew Clive Owen is playing a character who is often called upon to be heroic, but his performance is notable because of its absence of heroism. He gets through the ordeals and escapes danger mostly by accident and luck. He catches lucky breaks. He’s a reluctant hero and captures perfectly the face of despair. He’s a sleep walking pseudo alcoholic who sneaks nips from his flask to get through the morning s and has gotten used to he ringing in his ears that is the result of daily terrorist bombings. He is the citizen of interesting times and he’s adapted by keeping his head down and his nose to the ground. He is a perfect representative of humanity. Waiting for the inevitable end, not exactly dreading the prospect that it may come too soon.
Plus there are no less than three classic car chase scenes and an epically choreographed stroll through a war zone. As a sci-fi depiction of the future, as an action thriller and as brutal depiction of the depths and peaks of human behavior this film blew me away. This is a film that stuck with me. It planted itself into my brain where it took up residence and refused to leave.
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