With Children of Men, Alfonso Cuaron has reinvigorated the dystopic genre with a much-needed dose of seriousness and realism. Films such as 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Alphaville, and A Clockwork Orange inevitably come to mind, not only in their willingness to study the possible future consequences of current trends, but also in the gravity and sincerity with which they do so.

Children of Men potentially deserves to join this pantheon of dystopian classics. Brilliantly directed by the man who saved the Harry Potter franchise from a slow boring death, beautifully shot (side note: what is it with Mexican directors and beautiful cinematography? I have recently reviewed Babel, Pan’s Labyrinth and now Children of Men, and I find myself saying ‘beautiful cinematography’ in all 3 cases) by Emmanuel Lubezki, the DOP for Terrence Malick’s New World and for his upcoming film, Tree of Life, Children of Men explores with great care and details a near future where humanity has become sterile.

Deprived of the ability to conceive and, therefore, deprived of hope, people have slowly lost their grasp on existence. Chaos reigns across the world, with the exception of England where a dictatorial elite barely manages to keep some kind of order throughout the country. The first birth in 17 years propels different factions against each other, all determined to decide the future of the child.

The future of Children of Men, which is loosely based on the 1992 novel by PD James, is as almost as bleak as the one described by Margaret Atwood in the Handmaid’s Tale. Both reveal a post-apocalyptic world that suffocates under the tyranny of an authoritarian regime. And both use procreation as the driving theme of the narrative. But Children of Men offers a glimmer of hope at the end whereas, if I remember correctly, the Handmaid’s Tale leaves open the possibility that the future will not improve, the type of ambiguity that Atwood seems to cherish.

There is an incredibly well choreographed ‘war’ scene in the film that would have made Stanley Kubrick proud. The camera just seems to float and move seamlessly from room to room, from building to building, with bullets flying left and right, making the experience as, and if not more, intense and immersive than anything I have seen before.
Children of Men is perfect on many levels, and it is a pleasure to see a work of science fiction, or, as Margaret Atwood would call it, a work of speculative fiction, be treated with such dignity and importance.