Children Of Men (2006): Stranger Than Fiction

Discrimination and racism are a cancer that consumes our society. People hate what they don't understand and acceptance is not always the path people choose. Children Of Men was released in 2006 and the issues it tackles should be a thing of the past, but they are not. What we see on the screen might very well be what we see when we turn on the TV, and that has to be one of the scariest things ever.

Children Of Men (2006) is a science fiction/dystopic/thriller movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón (whom in the future would direct movies such as Gravity and Roma) and stars Clive Owen, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Pam Ferris, and Charlie Hunnam. Based on P. D. James' novel of the same name, the film is set in the year 2027, in a world in which human infertility has destroyed society and illegal immigrants look for refuge in the United Kingdom, the last stable government left. The story focuses on Theo Faron (Owen), a man who helps a refugee called Kee (Ashitey), who might be humanity's last hope. 

Presented like a biblical story, COM shows the journey of a man and a pregnant woman escaping from violence and chaos, much like Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus. The metaphor is pretty explicit, and it's hard not to notice the similarities between Owen and Kee and their biblical counterparts. The world is in chaos and a pregnant woman might bring salvation to a seemingly hopeless future.

The setting surrounding the story can be seen as today's news. Immigrants in cages being mistreated by armed men; People who come from other countries to find new opportunities are separated from their loved ones, while war, famine and death reach every corner. COM is a really violent film that explores how xenophobia and racism are issues that pervade time and are really difficult to end, if they can be ended at all.

Regarding technical aspects such as direction, camerawork, and acting, the film is astonishing. There are many one-shot scenes that are one of the strong points of the movie; they are brutal, violent, in which fear and chaos show how the state of the world is; they are perfectly timed and a true work of art. The setting in COM shows the decay of society and culture by filming what is behind our main characters: Destroyed buildings, graffitis, police violence, civil war, guns, blood, terrorism, and so on and so forth; Cuarón shows his talent with his amazing direction and focus on the smallest of details.

Considered by many a masterpiece and I am inclined to believe the same, since Children Of Men is the product of many talented individuals who wanted to tell a story about a world gone to hell, in which an illegal immigrant is a messiah. Children Of Men is an incredible journey about salvation and hope, in which Cuarón talks about topics that are still part of our daily conversations and news; a warning about something that has already happened and one of the best science fiction films that I have ever watched.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017): For The Right Reasons

 

"You look lonely"

This is the first sequel I review and it's the continuation to Blade Runner (1982). Blade Runner 2049 (2017) is a science fiction/dystopic/cyberpunk/tech-noir film directed by Denis Villeneuve and starred by Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford,  Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista and Jared Leto. The film tells the story of K (Gosling), a blade runner who discovers a secret that may change how the world works, and a search that will lead him to encounter a thought-long gone figure.

BR2049 still follows the sense of decay and glory of its predecessor: Dust, sand, bright colors, neon lights, holograms, ads, technology thriving everywhere, tall buildings, advanced vehicles, trash, poverty, discrimination, racism, etc. Villeneuve takes some of the ideas of the previous film, twists them and gives them a new and fresh take.

Loneliness is everywhere and sometimes you can't escape it.  K is a lonely and quiet person, hated by his co-workers, because he is a "skin job" (derogatory term to call the replicants) and tracks downs and "retires" out-of-control replicants. He lives with Joi (Ana de Armas), his cute AI holographic girlfriend who helps him in all the ways she can. K is devoted to his job, even when he is sent on a mission that changes everything he knows about the world and himself. 

In this sequel, what caught my attention is the solitude and the search of identity that pervades the whole film. K is searching for his true identity. He is a replicant, but he isn't what he is made to believe. What's real and not is often encountered in the film: What K really is, the love Joi feels for K, and so on and so forth. All of these accompanied by cryptic images, symbolisms, long shots and scenes in which the incredible OST made by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch is present. 

Visually, the film is spectacular. Every shot and scene have been made with an exquisite delicacy that makes this sequel even more powerful than the first one if I dare say. The color palette fits exactly with the moments, emotions, and philosophical and existential themes Villeneuve tries to convey inside this broken future.

Another thing that caught my interest is Joi, the beautiful AI girlfriend. She is in love with K. An artificial being in love with a replicant. Is Joi's love a genuine thing? A question that creates heated debates online about this "cyber-waifu" and makes us ask ourselves how real a bond between two creatures that are not even of the same kind can be.

 

For me, this has to be one of the best sequels I have ever seen, only topped with Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Few times have I watched a second part that is even better than its predecessor. I mean no disrespect to Ridley Scott, but Villeneuve takes the science fiction branch into a whole new level for me. It's hard to put into words all the topics this movie touches, and the viewer needs patience to understand what's being told on the screen. It might even take a few more watches to "get" BR2049. 

 

Blade Runner 2049 continues to question what being human really is. Shattering and defying what we know as identity. What does it mean to be human? To be born like one or to act like one? Some say that dying for the right cause is the most human thing anyone can do and K through his epic quest might find some answers about humanity and himself in a future that doesn't seem so far away.