Children of Men

Children of men, was utterly amazing. Honestly, it was not a movie I would have usually picked up because of how dark it is, and I do not generally like the "dystopia" kind of films. On the other hand, I am really glad that I got to watch it in class because I was enlightened to a new perspective of the film. There are things that some would not have been able to catch right away in it without stopping and discussing it a little bit. For example, the man standing on the box was related to real life. It was interesting how some parts of the movie were real, and not all of it was very far-fetched and “sci-fiy”. There were two scenes that stood out the most to me; the one where they part for the crying baby and stop fighting, but also when they are in the slums staying the night in that little creepy building.

The parting for the baby was very emotional for me because it is a huge reminder of how delicate youth is. I think in this scene I realized why the writer chose such an odd topic to make a movie on. I believe its because as an adult we try to shelter the hard things in life from the purest version of humans, children. Their carefree laughter, silly games, creativity and innocents all make us soft. We want the best for the innocents in our life. We try to protect or shelter them from the wrongdoing and anger others give off in the world.

Next, was the shot on the bus, through the slums and to the place they were staying. It was so interesting how he was able to capture not only the story we are following but give off so much information on the current state of their lives in the new world. I was intrigued with how terribly they were all treated for doing nothing wrong. Then, I realized how much history was behind it. This wasn’t fiction; many people were treated this very same way with nothing to be done about it. I am still amazed with the story that was told in the background about how you are tortured, belongings taken, killed and your body is burned. He was a genius for having the capability of capturing so many different things into a few scenes.

Another thing that struck my interest was how they killed so many of the main characters off. One would usually assume that Julian and Theo would have ended up together after their cute and flirty scene in the car. That gives it another very realistic flare to it that I hated and enjoyed at the same time.

In the end I am very pleased with this movie and one could take days explaining the complexity of its greatness. He put so much thought into every little thing he shot. This may be my new favorite movie because I am now aware of how ingenious it all was.