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Children of Men [Blu-ray][Region Free] [2006]
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Format | Blu-ray |
Contributor | Michael Caine, Clive Owen, Julianne Moore |
Language | English |
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Product Description
Futuristic sci-fi drama about a world in which humans have almost completely lost the ability to procreate and the search for any remaining specimen that can. It's the year 2027 and earth's youngest human being, at 18, has just died. Extinction seems a certainty, aided by the fact that wars are now waged continually between desperate nationalistic factions. Set against the backdrop of London, Clive Owen plays Theo, a former activist now bureaucrat informed of the discovery a lone pregnant woman - ostensibly earth's last hope. The challenge is to deliver her from harm to a place where her baby can be delivered safely. Understandably, there is more than one of the warring factions that would benefit from getting their hands on her.
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.78:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Product Dimensions : 5.31 x 0.59 x 6.77 inches; 2.68 ounces
- Audio Description: : None
- Item model number : 5050582707175
- Media Format : Blu-ray
- Actors : Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine
- Dubbed: : French, Spanish, Italian, Latin Spanish, German
- Subtitles: : English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Greek
- Language : Italian (DTS 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), German (DTS 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
- Studio : Universal Pictures UK
- ASIN : B0022NHOQQ
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #97,740 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #29,432 in Blu-ray
- Customer Reviews:
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When humanity is at the brink of extinction, the only chance of survival for the human race is in the hands of a newly born child, her mother and man they have never met.
If you have never seen this, do yourself a favor and check it out, thank my later.
𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓?
Children of Men is a 2006 dystopian action thriller film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón. The film is set in 2027, when two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Asylum seekers seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom, where they are subjected to detention and refoulement by the government. Clive Owen plays civil servant Theo Faron, who tries to help refugee Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) escape the chaos.
Inspired by the book with the same name that was published in 1992, the world P.D. James describes in her source novel isn't scores away from present times. Europe's geography circa 1992 was changing rapidly following the dissolution of the USSR and the reunification of Germany, resparking debates related to Globalism, Isolationism, and relative strategies for development in the eyes of potentially untrustworthy neighbors and entities.
The character of Kee, who’s creation can be attributed to Cuarón, and the implications of her pregnancy aren’t far removed in combination with what James describes as anti-immigration practices; on paper, Theo’s the survival of homeland (the United Kingdom, and one of few areas distinguished as composed given the global plight of infertility) can be largely attributed to its practice of prohibiting immigration with caveats that point to a hypocrisy that lingers. Able-bodied foreigners are welcomed under the guise of the labor they can provide being exploitable, though not with necessarily open arms: All others are subjected to cruelty prior to being repatriated and labeled as a strain on the United Kingdom’s already dwindling resources.
In light of the current political climate, and particularly narratives surrounding the need to “cleanse” the United States of illegal immigrants (Sidenote, “Kids and cages” and “Regular practices of U.S. Customs should never be found in the same sentence, but alas, here we are…) Cuarón offers a well-meaning opprobrium of sorts, meant to underscore the depravity laid out in 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒆𝒏 as an indignant affair with real-world applications.
Unfortunately some of what extends the conflict in James's novel gets lost in translation, specifically anything that can act as commentary on gender related dynamics; in her source novel this epidemic of infertility is a result of male sperm count plummeting to zero, making what transpires in terms of power structures ironic and lends to subsequent world building to some extent. Theo's cousin, originally named Xan, acts as a self-appointed dictator and warden to New England who has abolished democracy; additionally, the policies he carries in to action - which include those related to indentured servitude and what can be framed as genocide, as I will ellaborate on shortly - are what prompt the commission of Theo by a group of dissidents in the hopes of changing them. Here, his disposition as a complacent and arguably privileged bureaucrat is affected by the presence of his previously estranged wife and the obligations created by the exposition she provides. Whether or not Theo is ultimately “successful” is up to interpretation, except to say that Xan originally passes by his cousin's hands, though what gets done with his belongings is meant to encourage further consideration as to Theo’s susceptibility when it comes to wielding corruptible power in a bleak way; void of these elements Cuarón’s take and eventual denouement are appreciable as optimistic, though just as lacking in due nuance and consideration for the trajectory of 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒆𝒏’s tragedy in full.
Less important in terms of adapting are contradictory attitudes towards the aging population in James’ world; everyday citizens idolize anything that represents youth to the point of dolls, kittens, and the like always being in demand (This is subtly referenced in 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒆𝒏, but not emphasized) and the youngest citizens (Termed ‘Omegas’) are allowed to act whatever way they please. This appreciation for life, however, does not extend to the elderly: they are forcibly killed via a process called the “Quietus” at the age of sixty so as to keep them from straining an already suffering market.
This all in mind, nobody can deny Cuarón’s dutiful realism: the ugliness of his world is brilliantly captured with long takes and set-pieces reminiscent of documentaries featuring war zones and devastation, and the reinvigoration of anti-immigration rhetoric on the account of a global pandemic also makes 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒆𝒏 uncomfortably topical. That said, though this cinematic interpretation strikes a much needed cord it does miss out on the complexities that are the cornerstone of James's novel. Cuarón without a doubt does an incredible job of creating a world one wants to evade and escape from, but shows little interest in giving us a character we’d convincingly risk dying to escape with.
(For transparency: This film kind of teeters between a 3 & 1/2 and 4 for me; I know James was somewhat involved in the production, though, so I trust her judgements. Hence the four stars!)
What I have NOT enjoyed were the big budget dystopian messes like "The Postman" and "Waterworld". Neither of these had the biting sarcasm of, say, "A Boy and His Dog", and tried to cover up the hackneyed ideas with dazzling special effects and scenery.
"Children of Men" has both a dark, acerbic soul, and gold standard production values. This movie employs a very plausible impetus for the plot. Women haven't been getting pregnant for nearly one generation, and no one's got a clue how to reverse it. Zoologists are battling the same problem with cheetahs right now, so the premise is not far fetched. Fifty to seventy years from the epoch of the film, the world will have to get along without humans, as it had to get along without dinosaurs some 50 million years earlier. (There is a nice, subtle little illustration at one location which demonstrates that.)
Dystopian stories don't work unless there's a nearly impossible-but utterly compelling sign of hope. Winston Smith WILL find true love and save his colleagues from Big Brother before it's too late. Det. Robert Thorn will be able to stop corporate America from feeding people their deceased loved ones in the form of little green crackers. And so, it is no spoiler to say that "Children of Men" has a gal with a bun in the oven: the commodity that makes all other commodities possible. I mean, without this, there won't be anyone around to battle chagrined androids, or drive a truck full of gasoline across the Australian outback in the 23rd Century.
I can't think of a stronger plot motivation in any story.
The backdrop of "Children of Men" is layered with commentary on immigration policies, celebrity worship, religion, and the self-destructive nature of our species. Particularly striking to me is, even as human life is becoming a scarce resource, people in this film from every political stripe are still willing to kill their fellows by the truckload to further their particular causes. And they ALWAYS have a great justification for it. (I don't think I've ever wanted to punch out so many movie extras in my entire life.)
The climax of "Children of Men" is very powerful. It makes the whole movie, even if the denouement ain't the greatest.
The actors were superb. They created such believable characters who were hanging on to the tiniest shred of hope, and defiantly confronting the end of humankind with a sense of duty and a sense of humor. This was clearly a project the actors believed in, seeing as how two of the biggest stars don't make it halfway through the story.
Lastly, I applaud the use of a single, hand-held camera and very long shots. It gave the audience the feeling of being part of the team trying to save the pregnant girl, instead of viewers of some CGI masterpiece, where there was neither wobble nor splatter on the lens to distract us from Spiderman's antics.
The extra features in this movie are good...I guess. I don't particularly like to hear commentary, because there's a chance it could be way out of line with how I saw the themes. There are some good anecdotes about having to solve logistical problems, but I couldn't say whether there should be more or less of that sort of thing.
This is definitely a movie you should buy, so you can watch it again, and lend it to your cynical friends.
Top reviews from other countries
As the film begins there is mass mourning, Princess Diana style, for the loss of Diego and a high pitched, uncomfortable whistling sound that we realise is Theo's ears ringing from a bomb that explodes in the café he has just left. Theodore Faron is not the archetypal hero, he blunders clumsily through the film, an unshaven, alcoholic living like a zombie, his previous activist nature turned passive with the knowledge that the human race is doomed to be extinct. He flippantly states that the cigarettes he smokes are `not killing him yet'. Flip-flops are not the usual foot attire for the champion protector, yet Theo limps to the end on his damaged feet.
Throughout the film there is constant Christian subtext: Kee reveals her swollen belly to Theo in a straw filled barn. She is being shepherded by Julian, leader of the Fishes who strive for equal rights for illegal immigrants. The fish is a symbol of Christianity. Theodore, meaning gift from God, is the only person Julian and Kee trust. Dogs and cats flock to him and we see an assortment of chickens, sheep and a loan deer in his path that imply his Jesus-like status. Miriam, the original Hebrew form of Mary, is the oddly Buddhist midwife, preparing to bring in the new life. Kee jokes that she is a virgin and laughs at Theo's dumbstruck expression; but we are assured that the religious suggestions are merely a way of making this film stand out as apocalyptic. The profanities in the film seem unusually apt as `Jesus Christ' is gasped several times and Theo delivers the first child since 2009 to the words `Oh my God.'
The film is based on P D James' book, but retains only the bare essentials of its plot. Sadly we miss the vision of women pushing dolls in prams or having christening parties for kittens and Theo's cousin is in fact more than a minister collecting the remnants of art, he is the Warden of England; its sole ruler. Although the book is quieter and more sinister, director Alfonso Cuarón's (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) film gives his audience enough thought provoking detail to balance the high action scenes with sensitive control.
The film is shot in hazy grey-green monotone, other than the few splashes of red blood that hit the camera in the penultimate scenes. Angelic choirs sing through the sound of gunshot. This is a bleak looking film, desolate, war ridden and broken and yet it carries hope with it in Theo's reluctant awakening. Clive Owen (Croupier, Derailed) as Theo carries this exceptional film, with his brooding stillness complimenting Cuarón's fluid photography in a documentary styled piece. Owen's beautifully unguarded acting style is perfect for the flawed and cynical hero that we trust despite his disenchantment. Michael Caine (The Italian Job, Get Carter) is wonderful as Theo's aging hippie friend.
The film comes to an end all too soon, with Theo striving to find safety for Kee and the new child on the hospital boat, aptly named the tomorrow, part of the illusive Human Project. We are left wishing there had been more to it, wanting more information about the outcome but ultimately with a sense of sad contemplation but renewed faith in the human condition. As the end credits scroll up to the sound of children's laughter we are assured that hope has prevailed.