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:

Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 86 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
Phaldut Sharma	...	Ian (as Paul Sharma)

Storyline

London, 2027. In this dystopian world, humans have been incapable of reproducing for eighteen years for an unknown reason, meaning the imminent extinction of the species. Britain is the one remaining civilized society on the planet, which has resulted in people wanting to immigrate there. As such, it has become a police state in order to handle the immigrants, who are placed into refugee camps. Lowly government bureaucrat Theo Faron, once an activist, is approached by the Fishes, deemed a terrorist group, led by his ex-wife Julian Taylor, who he has not seen in close to twenty years, their marriage which disintegrated following the death of their infant son Dylan during the 2008 flu pandemic. Although the Fishes did use terrorist means in their on-going revolution against the state in the fight for immigrant rights, Julian vows that they now garner support solely by speaking to the people. What she wants is for Theo to use his connections to get transit papers for a young immigrant ...

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Plot Keywords:

long take | england | fertility | neo noir | british government | 

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Taglines:

In 20 years, women are infertile. No children. No future. No hope. But all that can change in a heartbeat.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Animals like Theo. The ginger cat on Jasper's sofa, the dogs at Tomasz and Emily's farm (to which he even comments the dogs don't like anyone), and the kittens in the farm house that crawl up Theo's leg.

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Goofs

While playing the game where Theo and Julian shoot the ping pong ball into each other's mouths, the camera can be seen as a reflection in the window just as they lean in for the kiss.

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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 "Shanti, Shanti, Shanti" 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." "Shanti" means "peace" in Sanskrit.

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Connections

Referenced in Filmselskabet: Episode #4.1 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Tomorrow Never Knows
Words and Music by John Lennon / Paul McCartney
Performed by Junior Parker
Published by Sony/ATV Northern Songs Music Publishing
Licensed courtesy of Unidisc Music, Inc
By Arrangement with The Licensing Partnership

User Reviews

Highlights of the movie

OK, I only got through the first 3 pages of comments but let me add my own.

1) Fantastic cinematography. Some like hand-held, some don't. It certainly worked very well here.

2) Related to (1), very long shots. There is one scene where the camera lens has blood splats on it for quite a few minutes. Hollywood would get rid of it, but for this movie it adds amazingly to the atmosphere that is being created.

3) Like "Code46" the technology is in the background. Just the way it should be, allowing us to focus on the story.

4) Theo as the central character NEVER picks up a gun, despite them being all over the place and easily available. As a viewer you are almost willing him to do so, to manage some of his challenges - but very deliberately the character does not.

5) I've read separately that yes this is a comment on current society. Being an Australian, with our controversial immigration laws and practices, that rings true.

6) Similar to (5), using the term "Homeland Security" in the movie is an obvious reference.

7) The revolutionaries/terrorists/fishes are shown to be just as political and militant as the government they oppose.

There are more, but that is enough. Overall a wonderful movie which leaves me thinking for a long time, which is all I ask.

Cheers!

Anton.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site UIP [Germany]

Country:

USA UK Japan

Language:

English German Italian Romanian Spanish Arabic Georgian Russian Serbian

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Children of Men

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Box Office

Budget:

$76,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$501,003, 31 December 2006

Gross USA:

$35,552,383

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,595,464

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