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 48 wins & 76 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

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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

long take | england | fertility | allegory | british government | 

---

Taglines:

The Year 2027.

---

Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States] 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:

Niños del hombre

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Box Office

Budget:

$76,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,284,254 (United Kingdom), 24 September 2006, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$179,268, 24 December 2006

Gross USA:

$35,552,383

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$69,959,751

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

After screenwriter Paul Chart wrote the first version of the screenplay, it was re-written a few times by other screenwriters including Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Timothy J. Sexton, and Alfonso Cuarón. Finally the final version was written by David Arata, Cuarón, and Sexton. Clive Owen's insights greatly impressed Cuarón, and he contributed a great deal of uncredited work to the final script.

---

Goofs

During the first continuous shot following Theo leaving the coffee shop, the reflection on the coffee shop door shows the faces of a patrol officer and a group of people just outside the door and walking to the right. Yet when the camera exits the shop, the cop does not appear in view as expected from the reflection, rather the cop and group instantly appear further down the street to the right.

---

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.

---

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.

---

Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Shutter Island/The Ghost Writer/Happy Tears (2010)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

"The future's a thing of the past." Tremendous from start to finish.

The apocalypse arrives on film once again in a plot so simple it's horrifyingly believable. It's 2027 and the world is close to annihilation because no child has been born in 18 years. London office worker Theo (Clive Owen) is offered cash by a radical ex-girlfriend to escort a refugee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to safety. Their lives are soon at risk from both government and revolutionaries.

Although the camera work and cinematography is nothing short of stunning the focus always with our protagonist, ensuring we're kept in the middle of the action throughout. It is also undoubtedly one of Owen's finest performances to date. Theo is never far from danger yet he struggles on with convincing dignity. Occasionally baffled but far from stupid - Theo is essentially a reckless, underplayed action hero that doesn't jump at every opportunity to arm himself with a gun. This works well with the international ensemble of incredible talent: Michael Caine's charming pot dealing hippie, feisty Julianne Moore, key role Claire-Hope Ashitey, the wonderful Pam Ferris, the increasingly busy, excellent Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Huston and writer/director/producer Peter Cullen (gloriously sadistic Syd) to name a few... This is surely a casting coup to be jealous of.

The episodic nature of the story makes Children of Men difficult to place into one genre alone. Briefly glimpsed futuristic sci-fi technology is grounded in reality and looks entirely achievable while grey, graffiti ridden concrete locations provide an excellent backdrop for the near satirical look of our current social and political climate. There's poignant drama interspersed amongst exhilarating action and yet enough twists to call it a thriller.

This is not to say it's flawless. Some exposition is handled better in places than others for instance. However Alfonso Cuarón has achieved a completely remarkable experience. Arguably the film could have been longer given how strong most of it is. The only really hard pill to swallow is the comedy juxtaposed with some stark imagery that looks all too familiar to anyone who has ever seen the News from the past few decades. Nice to see a Pink Floyd reference though (pigs might fly!), and someone finally found a use for Battersea Power Station.

Ideally an audience should see this film with no preconceptions and know as little about the plot as possible. This will be unlikely though due to a staggered box-office release schedule, word of mouth and a plethora of reviews and trailers that are eager to give much of the game away. Ironic then perhaps that it must be said - Children of Men is a cinematic milestone. Great special effects and an effective soundtrack accompany this heartfelt, moving and thought-provoking film. Easily one of the best films in recent memory.