Children of Men (2006)

Director:

Alfonso Cuarón

Writers (WGA):

Alfonso Cuarón (screenplay) &
Timothy J. Sexton (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

No children. No future. No hope.

Plot:

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Plot Keywords:

Future | Violence | Survival | Chaos | England

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 24 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi	...	Baby Diego (as Juan Yacuzzi)
Mishal Husain	...	Newsreader
Rob Curling	...	Newsreader
Jon Chevalier	...	Café Customer
Rita Davies	...	Café Customer
Kim Fenton	...	Café Customer
Chris Gilbert	...	Café Customer
Phoebe Hawthorne	...	Café Customer
Rebecca Howard	...	Café Customer
Atalanta White	...	Café Customer (as Atlanta White)
Laurence Woodbridge	...	Café Customer
Clive Owen	...	Theo Faron
Maria McErlane	...	Shirley
Michael Haughey	...	Mr. Griffiths
Paul Sharma	...	Ian

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Japan | UK | USA

Language:

English | German | Italian | Romanian | Spanish | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | France:U | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #42838) | New Zealand:R16 | Hungary:16 | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:18PL (DVD) | Brazil:16 | Sweden:15 | India:A | Spain:13 | South Africa:16LV

Filming Locations:

Admiralty Arch, The Mall, St. James's, London, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The long shot when the Fiat Multipla is attacked by terrorists, with all the passengers inside, demanded a camera rig that could rotate within the car. They used a rig developed by Doggicam Systems, and controlled by a stunt driver. The single shot was shot in six takes over four locations, requiring a lot of transition work from the VFX-house Double Negative as it pans around inside the car. The cocktail, stunt driver and motorcycle (from the moment it hits the car), windshield, blood, and roof, were all computer generated with 3-D animation.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Theo, Kee and Miriam move between Syd's vehicle and the bus to take them to Bexhill, the M3 motorway is visible at the top right of the frame. This scene was filmed at Chobham test track in Surrey (the control tower for the test track also features prominently here) but traffic on the motorway is visible underneath the bridge which swoops around to the right of the frame.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Newsreader: Day 1,000 of the Siege of Seattle.
Newsreader: The Muslim community demands an end to the Army's occupation of mosques.
Newsreader: The Homeland Security bill is ratified. After eight years, British borders will remain closed. The deportation of illegal immigrants will continue. Good morning. Our lead story.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Bet (2007/I)

Soundtrack:

Tomorrow Never Knows

Restored my faith in the art of cinema

I've had a particularly bad film year, especially after having seen one particular over-hyped vacuous mess earlier in the year which all but killed my desire to see any films, no matter how interesting they looked or what the critics said about them. So, it was with a little trepidation that I went to see this, especially given that it starred Clive Owen (IMHO, the George Lazenby of British acting).

Well, I loved it and I'm not ashamed. It's unremittingly bleak and violent, but so beautifully filmed and realised that, at one point, I damn nearly burst into tears that someone could have created something so fresh and so moving, so provocative, so disturbing and so grimly beautiful. I thought it brought a real sense of imagination to the screen and that it was possessed of a fantastic visual flair. I felt that it ended on a note of hope, however uncertain and unclear, and certainly a note of redemption for the hero. I'll admit that Owen, while he still hasn't convinced me that he's a great actor, pulls off this role with a hangdog...um, doggedness that I found believable and often even moving.

I left the cinema strangely elated, relieved that cinema still has the power to move.