Children of Men

At first I was surprised that we were going to watch Children of Men in class because it is a narrative film. Once I experienced director Alfonso Cuaron's distinct visual style, however, the choice made perfect sense.

Set two decades in the future in a dystopian society plagued by worldwide infertility, the film addresses the concept of faith in the face of utter hopelessness. It also tackles the issue of immigration law by presenting Britain as a country consumed by the search for and torture of illegal immigrants. There is a wealth of strong imagery in the film, which makes visual references to Catholicism, war reporting, and the Holocaust through startling scenes of detainee camps and terrorism.

The most striking visual aspect of the film, however, is Cuaron's stunning use of extended single shot sequences. The film mimics the style of a documentary film by using hand held cameras that follow the action without interruption. The camera shakes throughout the film and at one point blood splatters onto the lens, which creates an effect rarely seen in narrative film. During a scene where the main character, Theo, is running down a street through a war zone, the camera seamlessly follows his every move. The viewer always remain at eye level with Theo whether he is running, ducking, or kneeling with a gun pointed at his head. In this way, the viewer becomes part of the action, or at least believes that the cameraman is. The effect of these scenes is that the entire film feels frighteningly real and extremely raw.

I thought Children of Men was an incredible film. The fluidity of the camerawork, strength of the imagery, and open ended nature of the plot made it interesting and engaging. There are many details which are never fully explained and even the ending is left open for interpretation. Do we find hope in the final scene or defeat? Are we a witness to the apocalypse or to a new beginning for mankind?