Yet another sci-fi movie, sort of, today – maybe “dystopian” is a better description. Whatever, it has some very relevant themes for the times we’re living in. “Children of Men”, starring Clive Owen, is based on a P.D. James novel and is amazingly – and I mean totally amazingly – directed by multiple Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón.
Last year I took my brother on a pub crawl in my local area and he spotted a “famous person” in the final pub. It was Clive Owen – turns out he lives locally. So, as we were leaving, I went up and said “Hi”, shook his hand and, out of all his work, I told him how incredible I thought this movie was.
It tells the allegorical story of a world where no children have been born for 18 years and the effect that has had on society – you know, maybe like when the world has to get used to living with a disease or major health issue of some sort for a long time.
Cuarón, who also co-wrote the screenplay, pulls out all the stops. He’s known for long takes, and some of the sequences in this are just incredible pieces of creative single-shot film-making – it heavily influenced the recent single-shot “1917”. The story is also incredibly creative and the cast are all fantastic. It was nominated for Oscars and BAFTAs and I think it’s one of the best films of the 21st century so far, one that may become even more important over time.
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