If you have followed the career of director Alfonso Cuarón up to this point (which I cannot say that I have), then you would be aware of the fact that he has made a few small, but intelligent films. His only major credit (and by major, I am referring to something that mainstream America would recognize) is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. But no matter what your exposure is to Cuarón’s work, there is one thing that is unmistakable – the man has some serious visual style.
It is that visual style that sets the tone in his latest film, Children of Men. From the first shockingly bold scene of the film onward, Cuarón paints a vivid portrait of our world, 19 years in the future, where women can no longer have babies and mankind itself is fading into oblivion. With a meticulous hand and a keen eye, Cuarón creates a futuristic world that avoids the conventional pitfalls. There are no flying cars, no personal jetpacks; just a depressed, chaotic world that is believable and eerily logical. To say that his vision has created a completely fictional world of the future would be false — this world could stand as a warning of what our world could be if we do not handle it right. But whether you see a work of fiction or a political statement, there is no denying that the environment in this film is what first grabs you.
What continues to captivate you is the story, which was adapted from a book of the same name by P.D. White. It is a story that focuses on Theo (Clive Owen), the classic anti-hero. We meet Theo as a man whose hope has been drained, and like most of the rest of the world he is just biding his time, waiting for the end. That is, until he is tapped by a secret organization led by his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) to help them transport a young girl (Claire-Hope Ashitey) who has miraculously been impregnated. Seeing the girl as the last hope for all mankind, this group will stop at nothing to get her to the coast, where a group called The Human Project will take her into their care and keep her safe.
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Article comments
1 - Little Redeeming Value
The director is very good but the plot is severely lacking.
The whole story is confused and makes very little sense: what good is only *one* pregnant woman in the world, what's this Human Project exactly, are we OK at the end of the movie or not?
It is very unclear what exactly the director trying to communicate. Unless its something banal like "fascism bad" or "prejudice bad" or maybe "war bad".
Anyway, if you like gritty european-style violence filmed by a director which knows how to portray war in its true no-glory reality, this is the film for you.
If you insist on a sensible plot and justification for the violence, skip it or at least wait for cable. You'll thank me later.
2 - Kaonashi
The movie didn't suggest that the pregnant woman was going to be the savior of the world. They didn't specify that scientists would definitely find something magical in her genes that would cure the earth's women. The woman and her baby represented nothing more than hope for mankind's survival. If she was able to get pregnant, then it's possible that there are others like her out there.
The Human Project is a group of scientists dedicated to solving the infertility problem.
The movie doesn't explicitly say whether the human race is "ok" because sometimes films don't have to spell everything out for the audience. It's up to you as an audience member to decide how it can end. Sorry if Cuaron didn't wrap up the story for you in a neat little package.