Children Of Men

[Mikey B]

This is possible my second fav. film of 2006. The first one being Inland Empire.  I couldn't find any flaws. I wasn't really looking for any ones anyway. It really just blew me away. It was going on all cylinders and I was completely floored by the experience. If you haven't seen it, any I doubt most people on here have not, GO....Now!

[gob]

Part of me was going into this expecting it to be brilliant part of me felt it wouldn't live up to the love it's getting on here and elsewhere. I'm glad the love is completely justified. Such a brilliant film where all the elements click into place and work perfectly. Clive Owen's performance as a great modern anti-hero has completely changed my perception of him as an actor. But he's not the only one acting his socks off: Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Peter Mullan (and others) all deliver and create complex characters often with limited screen time. Nuffs been said about the technical excellence of the flm but I'll just say I was sitting there with my jaw open and squealing at some points.
Having only recently seen Y Tu Mama Tambien and loving it as well, Cuaron has become one of my favourite directors.

[matt35mm]

Having only recently seen Y Tu Mama Tambien and loving it as well, Cuaron has become one of my favourite directors.

Watch A Little Princess!!!  It's an amazing film, also directed by Cuaron.

[Alexandro]

i'm going with pubrick on this one and NOT going to say it's the best movie i've ever seen or that it is uninhibitedly awesome, because it isn't.  outside of the technical achievement and a moment towards the end, this is a disappointingly flaccid film, one that seems like it was written by kids in middle school for an assignment where they had to imagine some sort of dystopia.  cuaron makes the most out of very little--the scenes everyone talks about are really amazing--but the film suffers from the all too common among film students, there's-more-in-the-filmmaker's-head-that-isn't-on-screen, and the wow factor can only carry for so long.

Put me in this pile.

It made me appreciate how great Time of the Wolf is - there's a film with the true intention of exploring despotic perversity and human ego.  Children of Men had hollow, archetypal characters void of tangible emotional substance and the whole thing was this big Amazing Baby Race plot drenched in drab visuals.  There wasn't anything for me to cling onto - character or otherwise.  How can a film that is so intent on providing dismal presages of the future, and a film that does have this atmosphere, be content with resting its narrative in gimmicks and hashed false pretense opportunities?  On the Panic in the Streets commentary they talk about the difference between Panic in the Streets and Outbreak, how for all Outbreak's technology it simply leaves behind its characters so the tension of the pandemic never leaves the screen.  This is how I felt about this one.

Look, Time of the Wolf tries, but despite it's noble efforts it really is exasperating and boring. I felt as it was almost lazy. I'm supposed to be horrified with something that looks and feels as if shot and rehearsed by a bunch of first timers, truly. I wouldn't  talk so bad about it if it wasn't because you have no problem with bashing COM the same way. I was astounded in Time of the Wolf at the boringness of it all. I couldn't believe Huppert, specially after The Piano Teacher...COM is not resting on gimmicks...what's a gimmick, anyway? Would you care to define?

[modage]

Title: Children of Men
Released: 27th March 2007
SRP: $29.98 & $39.98

Further Details:
Universal Home Video has sent over early details on Children of Men which stars Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and Michael Caine. The Alfonso Cuarón directed drama will be available to own from the 27th March, and should retail at around $29.98. The film itself will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. The extras haven't been revealed in full I'm afraid, although we can confirm that the disc will include deleted scenes, featurettes and more. A HD-DVD/DVD Combo release will also be available from the 27th for $39.98. We'll bring you further details shortly.

fairly shitty package art here: http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/children-of-men3.html

[picolas]

that box art is actually the last thing i expected. i'm surprised they didn't try to package it like a romantic action movie with Clive Owen running away from an explosion with Jullianne Moore and the pregnant woman and Michael Caine w/a giant fucking semi-transparent face in the background. and reviews/top ten lists covering everything.

[MacGuffin]

i'm surprised they didn't try to package it like a romantic action movie with Clive Owen running away from an explosion with Jullianne Moore and the pregnant woman and Michael Caine w/a giant fucking semi-transparent face in the background. and reviews/top ten lists covering everything.

You mean, like this?:

[picolas]

yes. but more

[modage]

SPOILERS



The making of the movie "Children of Men". Mainly focuses on the long takes and visual style of the film.

[MacGuffin]

Universal has just revealed that Children of Men will street on DVD and HD-DVD/DVD Combo format on 3/27. The DVD will carry an SRP of $29.98 and will include anamorphic widescreen video, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, deleted scenes, the Possibility of Hope documentary and 4 featurettes (Theo and Julian, Futuristic Designs, Visual Effects: Creating the Baby and Men Under Attack: Children of Men). The HD-DVD version will add a U-Control option, picture-in-picture video and "Ads & Propaganda".

[MacGuffin]

ALFONSO CUARÓN WANTS TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Source: CHUD Contributing sources: Universal/Amazon.com

Children of Men, one of the two best movies of 2006 (it was a good year) hits DVD this coming Tuesday, and Universal is going out of their way to make sure you know about it, and that you talk about it. And CHUD is happy to help them with this because we like this movie more than we like some of the people we have slept with.

One big aspect of their push has been to make director Alfonso Cuarón available to talk about the movie, and he'll be doing just that on Monday in a live, interactive web thing at Amazon, where he will talk with fans about the social issues raised in Children of Men. You can submit your questions to Alfonso by going here, and the actual event will happen Monday at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific at www.amazon.com/dvd. All the details are below in the official press release.

Of course some CHUD readers have already submitted questions to Cuarón – we'll be running his video responses to three of those questions tomorrow. I have seen the video, and I think the guy gives some solid answers (and by the way, we submitted some pretty fucking excellent questions. Go Chewers!).

Amazon.com Teams with Universal Studios Home Entertainment to Host Live, First-Ever Global Fan Summit with Academy Award®-Nominated Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.

First-of-its-kind interactive video interview offers Amazon.com customers exclusive access to Cuarón on the eve of the DVD and HD DVD release of his Oscar®-nominated Children of Men

SEATTLE - March 21st, 2007 – Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), in collaboration with Universal Studios Home Entertainment, today announced it will host the first-ever Global Fan Summit: an exclusive, live interactive interview on its Web site with Academy Award®-nominated director/screenwriter Alfonso Cuarón. The live Web cast can be seen only at www.amazon.com/dvd and will begin Monday, March 26, at 6:00 p.m. PDT, the eve of the highly anticipated DVD release of his Oscar®-nominated motion picture Children of Men. Cuarón will answer real-time questions from Amazon.com customers watching the interview from around the world. Customers can also submit questions ahead of time by visiting www.amazon.com/specialfeatures.

The live, interactive video interview is a first of its kind for the world's largest online retailer and is a natural expansion of the numerous features the site offers customers to inform them about the products Amazon sells. The Web cast will be archived at www.amazon.com/specialfeatures for future viewing.

Leading up to the DVD release of Children of Men on March 27, Amazon.com is now featuring exclusive early excerpts from two of the DVD's compelling bonus features, titled Under Attack and Possibility of Hope. Under Attack, offers an inside look at how the filmmakers created the movie's most breathtaking scenes. Possibility of Hope, is Cuarón's personal documentary on how the film's revolutionary themes relate to contemporary society. These excerpts can be seen at www.amazon.com/specialfeatures.

'We are pleased to offer our customers a rare opportunity to watch and interact directly with one of today's most intriguing movie directors, Alfonso Cuarón,' said Peter Faricy, vice president of movies at Amazon.com. 'We continue to find new and innovative ways to help our customers make more informed buying decisions and be entertained in the process.'

'By partnering with Amazon on this innovative event, we are offering DVD consumers direct access to one of today's most acclaimed filmmakers who, in the past year, has created one of the most provocative and well-crafted films of our time,' said Craig Kornblau, President, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "This is a perfect example of how by continuing to aggressively harness digital technologies, we can allow audiences to play a more interactive role in shaping and enriching their own entertainment experiences.'

No children. No future. No hope. Children of Men is a story set in the year 2027, eighteen years since the last baby was born. Disillusioned Theo (Clive Owen) becomes an unlikely champion of the human race when he is asked by his former lover (Julianne Moore) to escort a young pregnant woman out of the country as quickly as possible. In a thrilling race against time, Theo will risk everything to deliver the miracle the whole world has been waiting for. Co-starring Michael Caine, filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men is the powerful film Pete Hammond of Maxim calls 'magnificent...a unique and totally original vision.'

[MacGuffin]

EXCLUSIVE: ALFONSO CUARÓN ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Sorce: CHUD

A couple of weeks ago we asked you to submit your questions for Children of Men director/professional genius Alfonso Cuarón, which he would answer in a videotaped interview. With Children of Men hitting DVD on Tuesday, we got those answers back – and here they are.


In the PD James novel, it's men who are infertile. In the movie, it's women. Is it just coincidence that each of you blames the opposite sex?
- Luke




Throughout the film you show us that Theo seems to have a strange connection with animals. Many people have their own thoughts on why this is - what's yours?
- CT




Alfonzo, my name is Santiago and im from Argentina and the vision of the future that you show in Children of Men reminded me a lot of the Dictatorship government that we had in my country in the 70's. So obviously this movie hit me very close to home. So my question is, Since you are Mexican, Is this vision of the future that you provide in the movie a vision much more closer to Latinoamerica, or was just your take on North America politics, or a vision of the state of the world in general?
- Santiago


And that one was so long they included the clip in its own file!

[Pubrick]

those were great questions and his answers were much better than the film.

too bad that last one isn't working.

[Kal]

WOW.

I loved this.

For some reason it took me a long time to see this. I bought the DVD weeks ago.

It was really good. I loved the long shots. Everything went perfect and even being predictable most of the time I was still on the edge.

Clive Owen was great, and Cuaron should have won something at the Oscars. I dont know if it was the best movie of the year (XIXAX AWARDS), but it was damn good.

At one point in the refugee camp at the end it looked like a real version of Call of Duty.

[The Red Vine]

Forgot to post my review from the film's release.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS


Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men" opens with the stunned faces of Britain's citizens in a coffee shop as they watch the horror unfold on a television. The "youngest person in the world" has just been murdered and society's downward fall into anarchy and infertility continues. In walks the film's gritty, depressed hero - Theo (played magnificently by Clive Owen). As he exits the coffee shop, we view a world clearly deteriorating as the date "November 2027" flashes onto the screen. As Theo casually stands on the sidewalk, he is immediately terrified when a bomb hits nearby killing and injuring many. Cuaron's camera hurries into the destruction where we view the horror. It is a perfectly contructed scene for a launching point into this world.

As the film progresses, Theo is sent on a mission to help a (surprise!) pregnant young woman reach a point of safety called "The Human Project". This mission if successful could determine the fate of the world's future for mankind. But Theo is not alone. There are rich supporting performances by Michael Caine, as his friendly aging hippie, and Julianne Moore, as Theo's ex-lover still grieving over the death of their son. Owen and Caine's scenes are the most touching and bring life to an otherwise bleak but thrilling story.

Director Alfonso Cuaron could have made a preachy political thriller without much interest in the human condition. But alas, he never does. There are glimpses and echoes of issues such as Iraq throughout, yet they never draw too much attention to themselves. Cuaron is much more fascinated with the emotions of his characters and their hope for survival. We are absolutely riveted as his camera catches the appropriate essence of each scene (including two gorgeous action sequences occuring in one continuous shot). By the end of the film, we have been shocked, scared, and moved. Yet, the film ends on a note that is appropriate and in it's own way - quietly perfect.

"Children of Men" is a rare kind of film that simply doesn't get made anymore. It will provoke audiences to think and feel with as much a sense of realism as any film I've seen. There is a general rule that audiences today do not want to be challenged or provoked. If this is the case, "Children of Men" will have to find it's fans over time. There is already one here.