Children of Men

A

It's 2027, and human beings are facing extinction as women have stopped being able to reproduce. Chaos have overthrown most societies in the world, and refugees flock to the UK, the last bastion of civilized living, wherein the government is forced to persecute the foreigners. A resistance party emerges to fight for the refugees' freedom.

Theo Faron (Clive Owen), once a political activist, is but another person in London succumbing to the hopelessness of the world's end. And he's not the only one, as his weed-growing good friend Jasper says, "They put suicide pills and anti-depressants in the rations," and then adds, "but ganja is still illegal." One day, Theo is kidnapped by a group of masked men, shoved onto the back of a van, and was taken to see the leader of the resistance: his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore). Apparently the resistance has found a living miracle, the first pregnant woman in 27 years, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey). Julian wants Theo to escort Kee to the coast, where she'll be picked up by members of the Human Project, a group of scientist in seclusion trying to find a cure for the infertility. However, Kee is a foreigner, and her fate will not be any different to any other foreigner if she is captured. At the same time, some members of the resistance see Kee as a rallying point to get support from the masses; and to make matters worse, Theo isn't too sure that the Human Project exists at all, for it's only been a myth.

But as Theo and Kee finally start on their perilous journey, Children of Men became the most unlikely of road-trip movies. But because of the script's depth and the surehanded story-telling of Alfonso Cuaron, the movie could be about anything - a futuristic story in the vein of Blade Runner, an apocalypse drama like Mad Max, action adventure, or a human story with the underlying theme of the barbaric nature of men and their humanity that leads to redemption. Based on the novel by P.D. James, this movie is as deep as it is broad, daring and stunning in more than one aspect.

Of all movies about the future, I don't think anything has come close to achieving the cinematic richness of Children of Men. Meticulous attention is given to details - set designs, costumes, all the way down to graffitis on the walls - Cuaron has envisioned and created a world, no less. He borrows liberally from Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, and Children of Men also bears resemblance from some of Spielberg's works, but he has surpassed both his predecessors' attempts in the genre.

In fact, Children of Men is so richly constructed, that halfway through the movie I began to feel the burden the settings seem to put on the main story, threatening to eclipse it (thus is the case for all road-trip or futuristic dramas, but this movie is both!). Yet again, character development happens to subtly, like saving graces in the midst of madness, that they are not immediately noticable. Characters here are as vivid as they are real. Theo is not an action hero but a man who has lost hope but still fights for it for his love for Julian. Kee is a child whose life the world depends on. Michael Caine makes the best of his limited screen time to make Jasper a loveable friend. Other supporting casts include Pam Ferris and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Kee's guardian and the resistance's second-in-command; both were given their moments to contribute to the story.

It wasn't until the end credits rolled that I realized how every element in this movie has converged so well to create a complete experience. It is unpretentious, unflinching, wildly exhilarating, and still manages to channel its underlying message of men's ambivalent nature. And a movie that manage to integrate so many aspects so well, as Children of Men has, deserves commendation.
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