Children of Men

Harlan Ellison once remarked that the challenge of writing science-fiction is that you have to explain everything. Set in the UK in the year 2027, Children of Men brilliantly imagines a decaying dystopia in which the human race has become infertile, humanity and our civilization is slowly dying, and Britain has descended into an ugly fascist enclave barricaded against immigrants who it heartlessy hunts down and dumps into refugee camps to be executed or lost among the human detritus. The film avoids unnecessary narrative devices to explicate the setting, instead choosing to immerse and surround the viewer, trusting in their intelligence, and delivering a deceptively simple story with tremendous momentum and visual ingenuity.

Clive Owen plays Theo, a civil servant with past ties to a 'terrorist' army fighting for the rights of immigrants, who is enlisted by this army to take a pregnant woman, Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to the coast to meet a ship belonging to the enigmatic 'Human Project.' On this dolorous odyssey Theo enlists the help of past-radical Jasper (Michael Caine, in a terrific performance) and runs afoul of treachery and capricious violence from all directions in this world gone to hell.

With astonishing command of cinematic language, director Alfonso Cuarón takes this story that is simultaneously simple and complex, and makes it sing with a voice that is spare, brutal, and starkly poetic. Boldy shot with long takes and handheld camera, the film is startlingly real and alive while expressionistic in its striking artistic landscapes of the digital-concrete urban nightmare (a witty visual refrence to the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals is the most memorable example). The washed, muted grey colour of the film and the textured grime of the astonishing production design paint a despairing portrait of the decay and downfall of all mankind has wrought. Children of Men is also punctuated by several utterly gripping action sequences, one a brilliant single-take shot that, for several minutes, follows two main characters through an ugly urban war in a refugee camp.

Like V for Vendetta, several aspects of the zeitgeist imbrue the intricate details of the film. It's envisioning of a brutal neo-fascist state held together by xenophobic, dictatorial law enforced through violence and racism is a logical extension of some of the worst current sociopolitical trends. The chaotic hell of Brexhill refugee camp, its intake haunted by the sight of certain individuals summarily removed, hooded, and executed, is society devolving to a state of primal, tribal dehumanization.

Such a context of hopelessness requires compelling characters to bring us into the world of the story, and the cast of Children of Men deliver the interesting people that the film needs to centre the viewer. Owen and Caine in particular are effective in creating sympathetic protagonists. The character arc of a former believer finding a cause worth reviving their idealism for could easily be cliche, but the screenplay and Owen's performance lend subtlety and verisimilitude, giving a film that drips so much despair a strong core of hope.

Profoundly frightening, yet ultimately moving and hopeful, Children of Men is easily one of the best science-fiction films of the past several decades.

---
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

Written by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby. Based on the novel by P.D. James

Starring:
Clive Owen....Theodore Faron
Julianne Moore....Julian Taylor
Chiwetel Ejiofor....Luke
Charlie Hunnam....Patric
Danny Huston....Nigel
Claire-Hope Ashitey....Kee
Peter Mullan....Syd
Pam Ferris....Miriam
Michael Caine....Jasper Palmer

Another Damn "Best of" List

Allright, so it's not really a "Best of 2006" list, but here is my list of favourite films of the past year. 2006 saw my decreasing ability to get to films in the theatre continue. With the demands of full-time work and family, it's very, very difficult to get out to movies in the theatre (where they should be seen, of course), but the initiation of a 'movie club' based on the book club or reading group model has had some success in increasing theatrical film visits. The idea was for a group of friends to once a month go to a movie and go out after to discuss the film. The planets have aligned only once for all of us to be there, and we've missed a couple of months, but it has worked fairly well so far.

Last year also continued my renting DVDs online with Zip.ca, which has given me access to an amazingly large DVD rental library and ensures that Blockbuster never sucks any money out of my wallet again. I recommend it for all film buffs who have similar frustrations with the lousy, esurient video stores that stock 200 copies of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and bugger all else.

Anyway, enough of my preamble blather; these are the films I saw theatrically that I liked the best in 2006, in alphabetical order (drum roll):

Casino Royale--Within mere moments of screen time, Daniel Craig owns the role of Ian Fleming's James Bond, and the 21st 007 film recaptures the literary spirit of the Bond novels to a degree unprecedented since 1969. Bold, dramatic, well-acted, and intensely exciting, Casino Royale is easily the most engaging, entertaining action thriller of the year.

The Departed--Martin Scorcese's return to Mean Streets territory crackles with energy and creativity, is low on bombast, and boasts a compelling plot and superb acting.

The Fountain--An intensely moving fantasy/fable of the search for eternal life and an intimate, time-spanning intertwining of three stories, Darren Aronofsky's film is so beautiful it feels like it was forged in the heart of a star.

Miami Vice--Michael Mann reworks the 80s cheesefest into a lean, edgy, ceruleun adult thriller that shows the dangerous world of undercover police work in convincing detail.

The Prestige--Director Christopher Nolan makes the wait for his second Batman film less painful with this glorious, literary period revenge drama and gothic meditation on the meaning of real magic.

United 93--An astonishing blend of fact/fiction filmmaking, the final moments of this film are among the tensest ever committed to film. Paul Greengrass' docudrama leaves you shaken to the core.

V for Vendetta--In an era of bland CGI action films, it is refreshing to see an overtly political action thriller that captures the zeitgeist and challenges the viewer to ponder the meaning of terrorism and political thought control.


This is the list, lacking a couple of films I thought would make it but have yet to open in this neck of the theatrical releasing backwoods (which, in Canada, means anywhere outside Toronto or Montreal). Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men and Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth look amazing; hopefully 2007 brings those and many other worthy films.

Let me know your thoughts. What did you like best in 2006?