Genre: Adventure/Drama/Sci-Fi

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Certificate: Children of Men was rated 15A by the Irish Film Censor's Office (www.ifco.ie) i.e. suitable for those of 15 years of age or upwards. Persons under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Violence = strong. Drugs = mild. Sex/Nudity = mild. Language = strong.

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Children of Men

This is one of the best movies you will see this year... and indeed for a long time to come.  Alfonso Cuaron - the versatile Mexican who brought us the very interesting Y tu mama también and the very "Gimme some money now so I can go do what I really wanna do later" Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - has produced something very special here.

Based on the novel by P.D. James, Children of Men places us in a not too distant future (2027 to be exact) where the world is in chaos and disarray.  For reasons unknown (but many intimated) no birth has taken place in 18 years.  As in V for Vendetta Britain as a nation seems the only survivor, having responded to global upheaval with militaristic imperialism.  Among its "civilised" glories, it now has its own Department of Homeland Security, which cages immigrants in detention camps.  Curiously enough the BBC still survives (I wonder if a fossilised Parky made the switch back from ITV) and broadcasts at the beginning that the youngest person in the world - an 18-year-old still known as Baby Diego - has been killed by an autograph hunter in Buenos Aires, prompting an outbreak of mass grief and floral tributes that evokes the over sobby, hysterical post-Diana world recalled recently in The Queen.

The living are grieving for themselves, too, because Diego's death serves as a harsh reminder of the infertility crisis that signals the end of the human race.  For those who choose to speed the process, the government offers suicide kits euphemistically named "Quietus".

Sounds like a bag of laughs so far eh?

Please don't let such context dissuade you, because this is truly remarkable stuff.  What struck me instantly was the visualisation of a somewhat "used future" - the London of 2027 has not changed at all.  Much like a person fast forwarded from 1987 to now, one wouldn't notice too many jaw dropping differences.  It is more violent, a lot grubbier and maintained by a stuttering, erratic technology... but much the same.

The revelation in recent years that is Clive Owen continues on his upward spiral to cinema stardom, and rightly so.  As the wasted, dissolute former activist Theo, he excels. Lazy and defeated like many political idealists when they reach a certain limit, he is thrown back into the whole boiling pot by a revolutionary group led by his ex-lover (Julianne Moore), who persuades him to arrange a transit pass for an African lass who is apparently of some importance to the resistance.

There are many layers to it all... On a socio-political scale - racism, misogyny, mass fear, the often double standards of revolutionary activity.  On intimate and deeply personal levels - friendship, bravery, love, loss.  Flashes of light and warmth in this cold, paranoia-steeped world come in Theo's meetings with a dope-smoking retired political cartoonist, engagingly played by Michael Caine with long grey hair and a penchant for woolly cardigans and playing air guitar.

What ties this all together is a master-display from Cuaron.  He gifts us THE most visually stunning action sequences since Saving Private Ryan.  I cannot stress how good these set-pieces are!  Shooting it entirely with handheld camera, and orchestrating all with dexterous flair, his roving yet balletic artistry shapes Children of Men into thoughtful, dynamic cinema.  Outstanding!

Reviewed by Trooper, Premier Movie Reviews 2007.

RELATED MOVIE REVIEWS: ALFONSO CUARÓN: Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban.  CLIVE OWEN: Closer,  Gosford Park,  Inside Man,  King Arthur,  Sin City,  The Bourne Identity.  JULIANNE MOORE: Far From Heaven,  Hannibal,  Laws Of Attraction,  The Forgotten,  The Hours.  CHIWETEL EJIOFOR: Inside Man,  Love Actually.  CHARLIE HUNNAM: Cold Mountain.  DANNY HUSTON: Birth,  The Aviator,  The Proposition.  MICHAEL CAINE: Batman Begins,  Miss Congeniality,  The Cider House Rules.

Clive Owen

Buy at AllPosters.com

Julianne Moore

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Chiwetel Ejiofor

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Danny Huston

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