Children of Men

All that i will say is that i have a new hero; Emmanuel Lubezki (ASC).

Absolutely agree.

I still can not get over the experience this film crew created. The camerawork was some of the most riveting and realistic stuff I have ever seen. Brilliant work, throughout.

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On the R2 DVD the only special feature is a nice (if brief) behind-the-scenes look at how they designed and created some of those amazingly long and unedited shots. The scene when the car is attacked is especially impressive, and the rigging and the camera arm they invented - damned coolness. That Alfonso could devise and then coordinate such a thing is remarkable.

I don't expect Children of Men is going to get much attention when the Oscar nominations are announced this week, but it surer than ***** deserves a pile of 'em. But taking a piece of wisdom from a great movie that actually did manage to garner Academy acclaim, "Deserve's got nuthin' to do with it." Indeed.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

thanks for the review yoda....i thought that the film was well done, the ending didn't seem abrupt for me...i was actually expecting it and wasn't surprised at all...

it is a frightening view of the future...

I'm sorry to say this, because I almost never say this, but I thought Children of Men was awful. I really didnt enjoy it. I'm not much of a sci-fi fan to be fair but the only things I really liked about this film were Clive Owen and Michael Caine. The storyline did nothing for me.

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What about the technical achievements of the film? Certainly that left some soft of impression...

The never ending shots had a riveting effect - because the s/fx were so realistic. I was amazed...

The idea of the possibility of this movie as truth is terrifying to me. Could you imagine!? But unfortunately its not so far fetched...

Did you guys know the man who wrote Children of Men, Mark Fergus, is scripting the new Iron Man movie with Robert Downey Jr.?

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Want to see a train wreck?

Great review, and thanks for the info on Iron Man tb.

This movie was just ok for me. I have a dislike of "dirty" futures. I like "end of the world" stuff but it's rarely done well. I had hoped for more.

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Bleacheddecay

More what? More stuff you don't care for? This film is groundbreaking in many ways, both in concept and execution. Wondering why you would "hope for more" content you say you don't care for.

EDIT: Nevermind. I see Night of the Comet in your top ten. Children of Men is most certainly not for you...

Actually, I liked parts of it. The father was particularly colorful.

Still it was an awfully dirty looking future.

I had hoped that they'd found a way to make a child without women or sex.

Of course movies in which the hero dies are not usually my fav.

It was never explained how or why this girl got pregnant.

Unlike some I can enjoy certain aspects of a film and not enjoy certain aspects without it being a totally black and white issue.

I take it you have disdain for one or more of my fav movies. Judgments like that are interesting in what they say about the person judging others.

And Children of Men was, IYO, groundbreaking how, exactly?

No...sex? No women? No thanks! I feel that intimate personal relationships are absolutely required for a healthy relationship, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You can rebut this issue if you wish, but I don't see how.

Fair enough. Some people don't go for noir trappings in film. Me, I almost require them...

IAs the quote in my sig states, I tend to like a little room to contemplate and dream in film, so the issue you metion, and the end were right up my alley. I prefer to leave the spoon at home....

Unlike...whom, now? Yeah, I don't like looking at things as black and white, either, not since I was a little kid watching Star Wars films in the 70s. There are hundreds of films I like certain aspects of, but am nt so crazy about others. Children of Men, however, I am over the moon for... anyway...

It says absolutely nothing, as I never judged any people, just films, which...is what this site is for...discussing film! From time to time, people are going to disagree with you when it comes to film. This is in no way a personal attack or a judgement on YOU. A word of advice for a long tenure at the wonderful MovieForums. Roll with the punches, and never take anything too personally. So, my judgement of a b-movie from the 80s says nothing about me, really.

Well, except that I don't like Night of the Comet....

The level of realism was fantastic, for one. In the cinematography department, multiple sequences in the film were groundbreaking. The sequence in the car was 6 minutes long, without a cut, and featured never-before attempted camera work that brought the camera to life in the car, bringing the viewer into the scene in a way that hadn't been done before. A free-floating camera that followed the action perfectly, while at all times remaining in the car, sweeping around, between, and at time what appeared to be through the various actors. It isn't just my opinion that this was a groundbreaking sequence, it is just a act, which is illustrated by various people on the film crew, in the short making of doc on the DVD. The escape from the village was also groundbreaking, in that it was another uncut shot, this time 9 minutes long, that brought the viewer RIGHT into the middle of the action. The moment they leave the tunnel and head out into the village, the shot starts, and proceeds through their capture and subsequent escape from the dreadlocked baddie, Patrick, and continues to follow our intrepid hero through a series of intense and moving events, culminating with the the death of Lucas in the building after Theo finds Kee and the baby. Incredible, intense, disarming, and utterly engaging. Some of the most engaging cinema ever, IMO. So yes, the film IS indeed groundbreaking, as far as I am concerned.

I thought we were talking about a film, not relationships. The title implied for me, that some scientific advance, perhaps cloning or something like that was part of this film.



Ok, I can agree to disagree about this and many things.



Again, I can understand that.



I'm not talking about black and white. I don't mind that.

I'm talking about grime and actual dirty looking people, world, inanimate objects and so on.


I'm happy to hear that you don't judge people. That was not the impression I was getting.

I can dislike a lot of movies other people like and vice versa, that's cool with me.

Okay, thanks for explaining your POV.

HA! Touche', for sure... I will go put on my silly hat, right now!


Oh, for sure. I LOVE black and white films, old and new. I was on the same page as you, talking about black and white dichotomy, conceptually. Hence the comment about Star Wars, with it's clear cut black hat/white hat gig...


Got it. Soooooooo, I take it you don't care much for Blade Runner, then? Funny how I am intrigued by dystopian concepts... Not sure why...




Yeah, I tend to say what I mean, and not pull any punches. You know what they say about first impressions. I must say, some of the members I thought were rude/mean on the forums when I first joined, are some of my favorite members now...[/quote]


Oh, like I am DONE!

...

*runs away*

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Astute, as usual, Adi

I didn't mean it that way but I occasionally do like silly hats!

I'm not fond of Star Wars either. LOL. I like shades of gray better than black and white thing in general. However, with characters, I do like to be able to understand them and / or trust some things about them.
You are right, I didn't care for Blade Runner much. It was interesting in parts but overall not my thing.


That's cool. I know how that goes. I've seen it before elsewhere.

OK, nice to meet you and discuss some things with you.

Can just cut in here and say that I basically agree with Bleach, CoM was a fun flick, a good and an engaging watch, but unlike Mikey here, I don't think it will be regarded as a classic. The technical stuff may well be groundbreaking, but that's not exactly what makes a film great. To me it seemed too simple, too dry. I can recount the entire plot in two sentences; In the future, mankind somehow loses the ability to procreate normally. Then one day a pregnant woman appears and for the next hour and a half we watch her trying to escape to safety where she can give birth to this extraordinary child. Will it save humanity we don't know, for all we know it could be a fluke, an exception, a meaningless flicker of hope. The second thing is, Clive Owen, despite being uber sexylicious, his character interpretations always seem to be rather samey, always the gloomy lonely type...
Also, somehow the gloomy/gritty realistic setting, with only hints of future development made it hard for me to completely believe this was happening in the future (and that this was in fact a sci-fi film).

I'm not saying it's a bad film, far from it, obviously we each have different tastes and CoM struck a personal chord with you Mikey (whereas I'm more of a poetic type when it comes to film), but I think you'll find only a handful of people that are equally as enthusiastic about it as you are.