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.