Children of Men topped my best of 2006 list, and I am happy to report that it has successfully made the translation to the small screen with its impact intact. Alfonso Cuaron's film thrusts you into a dangerous and brutal world, yet brings hope for the future. This vision of the future is bleak and grim and there is a distinct feeling of hopelessness. Cuarón delivers a daring future world that takes you on a journey through the despair to the dawn of a new hope. Quite frankly, I loved this movie, and my love continues unabated on DVD.
The story is set in the future, not too far removed from our own. In this future women have become infertile — no more babies are being conceived. The very idea of this happening is blood chilling. Think about it, with all of the weird things that go on in the world, from pollution to genetic experimentation to all of the crazy drugs and chemicals being added to our food and used to treat illnesses, who knows if some sort of other side effects are changing us without being detected.
This is the story of a world that has lost hope; everyone is literally watching the world die. Civilization is collapsing all over the world; we get flashes of other major cities around the globe, each one falling into chaos. England has enacted a Homeland Security Act that is being used to expel all non-nationals. This movie shows how the immigration issue is being dealt with as everyone is being rounded up and sent to refugee camps to await deportation. This future is dark and violent and feels very, very real.
What helps bring this future vision alive is how little we are told. There are things that happen that imply things about the world and the various groups and people involved, but we are kept on the outside looking in, forcing us into being one with Theo as he moves forward. While being sucked into the world, we are forced into his perspective, not unlike watching the action through a dirty window, where many of the details are fuzzy around the edges, only allowing focus on the primary action.
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