Children of Men (2006)

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.

Director:

Alfonso Cuarón

Writers:

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

Stars:

Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 28 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clive Owen	...	Theo Faron
Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi	...	Baby Diego (as Juan Yacuzzi)
Michael Caine	...	Jasper
Mishal Husain	...	Newsreader
Rob Curling	...	Newsreader
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Luke
Jon Chevalier	...	Café Customer
Julianne Moore	...	Julian
Rita Davies	...	Café Customer
Charlie Hunnam	...	Patric
Kim Fenton	...	Café Customer
Danny Huston	...	Nigel
Chris Gilbert	...	Café Customer
Phoebe Hawthorne	...	Café Customer
Rebecca Howard	...	Café Customer

Storyline

The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set in and around a dystopian London fractious with violence and warring nationalistic sects, Children of Men follows the unexpected discovery of a lone pregnant woman and the desperate journey to deliver her to safety and restore faith for a future beyond those presently on Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

future | violence | birth | chaos | survival | 

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Taglines:

He must protect our only hope.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us] UIP [de]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English German Italian Romanian Spanish Arabic Georgian

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Niños del hombre

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$76,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$179,268 (USA) (22 December 2006)

Gross:

$35,286,428 (USA) (9 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Strike Entertainment, Hit & Run Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alfonso Cuarón said in one interview that he wanted to shoot this film like The Battle of Algiers rather than Blade Runner, almost like a documentary about something that happened back in 2024.

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Goofs

In the scene where Theo and Jasper smoke Strawberry Cough, the cat - despite being fast asleep every time it is in frame - changes its position between every cut.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

At the very end, one can read "Shantih, Shantih, Shantih" with children shouting and laughing on the soundtrack, which can be heard repeatedly throughout the end credits. This is the last line of T.S. Eliot's 1922 poem "The Wasteland." "Shantih" means "peace" in Hindi.

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Connections

References 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Bring on the Lucie"
Written and Performed by John Lennon
Published by Lenono Music
Licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd

User Reviews

Carefully crafted piece of work

This year I attended for the first time the Venice Film Festival in Italy. I was of course quite excited and bought tickets to some screenings of a few different films I found interesting. Initially Children of Men wasn't in my plans but I was convinced by a friend who was very enthusiastic about it. Now I say I'm glad I bought the tickets! What an amazing film this is. The science fiction genre is just a coat to project into the future the horrors and problems of our current days and many films attempt that ending up, in most cases, failing. This one however succeeds. Succeeds indeed but not only in this... The film blew away nearly everyone in the audience as one of the best action movies we have seen lately, with extremely exciting and brutal chases, gun fights, etc. Don't be put off by this though, the film is as good as it is not because of the action sequences but its amazingly emotional and touching story. The performances of the cast is impressive especially Clive Owen and the newcomer Claire Hope Ashitey who throughout the film develop the relationship between their characters and it's such a joy to see the development. I'm not very good at writing reviews so I think I'll stop know, but I had at least to transmit something to everyone who might be interested in watching this film. Don't pass this one, you won't regret it. In my view one of the few excellent films released this year.