One of the movies that has been on my ‘must watch’ list for a while, and that we finally got around to watching tonight, has been Children of Men, the critically acclaimed film released in late 2006, set in a dystopian Britain in 2027, in a world where a child has not been born in over two decades, and society is on the verge of collapse.
The film is loosely based on the similarly named 1992 novel The Children of Men by P.D.James. Although the basic premise, of a dystopian Britain is retained, and the reason for the collapse – mass infertility leading to a loss of hope – are retained, along with some of the characters, there are significant differences in terms of plot and some of the details.
Perhaps the most major difference, and also an indication of the way in which science fiction is often used to comment on contemporary issues, is in the whole illegal immigrant sub-plot. In the book, young immigrants are lured into the country and exploited, in the film however immigrants are rounded up, kept in cages and then taken to ‘refugee’ camps. The treatment of the immigrants, and the scenes in the refugee camps have very clear references to the Holocaust, and also more contemporary issues such as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo – the use of the the name Homeland Security for the government department responsible also makes this very clear. The change in the plot by having one of the illegal immigrants be the saviour, the mother of the first baby to be born, and trying to leave the xenophobic Britain behind, compared to the book where the baby is brought to the leaders of the country, is stark in it’s message also.
To some extent some knowledge of the book is useful for understanding parts of the film, as director Alfonso Cuarón dislikes back-story and exposition in movies – as a result there is almost a throwaway reference to his cousin before we see Theo, the main character of the story in the back of a limousine heading towards the luxurious other world in which his cousin resides.
Unlike some modern films, the movie also retains many of the Christian undertones of the book – P.D.James describes the book as a Christian fable, indeed the title is taken from a verse in Psalm 90, which in the King James reads “Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.â€? In the movie there are religious groups attributing the mass infertility to the damnation of God on the world and the terrorist group fighting for the rights of the immigrants are called the Fishes. Indeed the whole story was described as a modern day Nativity Story by some critics. The Christian elements even extend to the soundtrack, with John Tavener being commissioned to provide some of the music for the movie.
In terms of look, this was very much a near future vision, with the majority of the world being much like our own, but after twenty years of decay. The only exception is the brief glimpse of the other world that Theo’s cousin inhabits, behind the security gates. Although there are elements of technological advance, this is the only obvious point.
The style of the images is also very raw, with an almost documentary look at times. This comes in part through the lengthy single-shot sequences where the camera is moving around within the action, ducking and weaving along with the characters. A grainy and dark look permeates the whole film, with it clearly being Britain in the winter, with bare trees and grey leaden skies.
There is a good selection of acting talent in the movie too, with Clive Owen the lynchpin of the whole film in the main role of Theo. Also appearing is Julianne Moore as Theo’s former wife, and Michael Caine looking very much like an old John Lennon as Theo’s friend.
The movie appeared in many top ten lists of the films for 2006, and also was nominated for, and received a number of awards, especially for the writing, all well deserved. Certainly as movies depicting a dystopian future go, and those depicting believable one at that, this is certainly up there with the best.