The Oscar race is almost over and I'm happy to announce that I've seen almost all of the major nominees (except for The King's Speech which I'm going to see in a couple of hours), which includes the contenders in the Best Motion Picture, Best Performances, Best Writing and Best Animated Feature Film categories. However I noticed having lost some of my followers, which is natural since I haven't had enough time for my reviews, but for those of you who have stayed around, I'll try to get back on track with blogging.
Children of Men is a sci-fi drama, set in the United Kingdom of 2027. It's about the world in which global infertility leads to societal failure, and people can no longer hope for a better future. Accidentally, the main character, Theo, finds out that there is a pregnant woman who happens to be a refugee, and he must find safe transit for her in order to save her and her baby.
First of all, I have to say that infertility as an idea for apocalypse is very interesting. While a lot of movies show the human race trying to avoid extinction by fighting natural disasters, Children of Men shows us what would happen if people didn't have to fight for their own lives, but at the same time had to face the fact that after their death, there will be no more mankind. I have to admit that the idea of leaving this world without leaving some kind of mark in it is pretty terrifying.
Another interesting issue this film brings up is illegal immigration. I loved how The Children of Men deals with it because it doesn't try to glorify the immigrants, but at the same time we see that to "mother nature" it doesn't matter what color of skin we have, which step of the social ladder we're on, and how well-educated we are. So to me the main idea behind this is that all humans should be treated as humans, even if for some reason you find their presence disturbing. This is a very deep movie, and, at times, very thrilling.
Interesting fact: When Theo is walking down the ramp on Battersea Power Station, a stenciled image of two policemen kissing can be seen on a wall. The image was created by "Banksy", a British "guerilla artist" who specializes in that kind of work. Other Banksy works appear in the film, including a stenciled image of a child looking down a shop.
Favorite quote: "Whiffet! I'm a virgin. Nah! Be great, though, wouldn't it? Fuck knows. I don't know half the wankers' names".
Favorite quote: "Whiffet! I'm a virgin. Nah! Be great, though, wouldn't it? Fuck knows. I don't know half the wankers' names".
I like dystopian stories, this one for what ever reason didn't grab my imagination, maybe I wasn't in the right mood, and need to give it a 2nd chance.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that it's a warning about looking after the planet today, as pollution might lead to such problems.
By the way, if you're interested in Bansky, I urge you to watch the superb "Exit through the gift shop", which I reviewed.