Children of Men (2006)

Regisseur:

Alfonso Cuarón

Drehbuchautoren (WGA):

Alfonso Cuarón (screenplay) &
Timothy J. Sexton (screenplay) ...

Premierendatum:

5. Januar 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Abenteuer | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Werbezeile:

No children. No future. No hope.

Plot:

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Plot Keywords:

Blood On Camera Lens | Compassion | Hippie | Battle Scene | Epidemic

Filmpreise:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 24 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

"The future's a thing of the past." Tremendous from start to finish.

Besetzung

Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi	...	Baby Diego (as Juan Yacuzzi)
Mishal Husain	...	Newsreader
Rob Curling	...	Newsreader
Jon Chevalier	...	Café Customer
Rita Davies	...	Café Customer
Kim Fenton	...	Café Customer
Chris Gilbert	...	Café Customer
Phoebe Hawthorne	...	Café Customer
Rebecca Howard	...	Café Customer
Atalanta White	...	Café Customer (as Atlanta White)
Laurence Woodbridge	...	Café Customer
Clive Owen	...	Theo Faron
Maria McErlane	...	Shirley
Michael Haughey	...	Mr. Griffiths
Paul Sharma	...	Ian

Alternativ:

Children of Men (Deutschland) [de]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity.

Länge:

109 Min

Produktionsland:

Japan | UK | USA

Sprache:

Englisch | Deutsch | Italienisch | Rumänisch | Spanisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Altersfreigabe:

Netherlands:16 | Ireland:15A | Malaysia:18PL (DVD) | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Hungary:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:15 | France:U | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Germany:16 | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | Norway:15 | USA:R (certificate #42838) | South Africa:16LV

Drehorte:

Admiralty Arch, The Mall, St. James's, London, England, UK

Firma:

Universal Pictures

Dies und das:

Theo never gets to finish smoking an entire cigarette throughout the film.

Pannen:

Faktische Fehler: Tinnitus is not caused by "Cells dying", but by untoward pressure (noise, ear syringing) on the eardrum causing the basilar membrane in the cochlea being displaced such that it is constantly stimulating the cilia. If it were the case that Tinnitus was caused by cells dying, it wouldn't so frequently be a permanent condition.

Dialogzitate:

[first lines]
Newsreader: Day 1,000 of the Siege of Seattle.
Newsreader: The Muslim community demands an end to the Army's occupation of mosques.
Newsreader: The Homeland Security bill is ratified. After eight years, British borders will remain closed. The deportation of illegal immigrants will continue. Good morning. Our lead story.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweist auf/spielt an auf/erwähnt 2019 - Dopo la caduta di New York (1983)

Soundtrack:

Ruby Tuesday

"The future's a thing of the past." Tremendous from start to finish.

The apocalypse arrives on film once again in a plot so simple it's horrifyingly believable. It's 2027 and the world is close to annihilation because no child has been born in 18 years. London office worker Theo (Clive Owen) is offered cash by a radical ex-girlfriend to escort a refugee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to safety. Their lives are soon at risk from both government and revolutionaries.

Although the camera work and cinematography is nothing short of stunning the focus always with our protagonist, ensuring we're kept in the middle of the action throughout. It is also undoubtedly one of Owen's finest performances to date. Theo is never far from danger yet he struggles on with convincing dignity. Occasionally baffled but far from stupid - Theo is essentially a reckless, underplayed action hero that doesn't jump at every opportunity to arm himself with a gun. This works well with the international ensemble of incredible talent: Michael Caine's charming pot dealing hippie, feisty Julianne Moore, key role Claire-Hope Ashitey, the wonderful Pam Ferris, the increasingly busy, excellent Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Huston and writer/director/producer Peter Cullen (gloriously sadistic Syd) to name a few... This is surely a casting coup to be jealous of.

The episodic nature of the story makes Children of Men difficult to place into one genre alone. Briefly glimpsed futuristic sci-fi technology is grounded in reality and looks entirely achievable while grey, graffiti ridden concrete locations provide an excellent backdrop for the near satirical look of our current social and political climate. There's poignant drama interspersed amongst exhilarating action and yet enough twists to call it a thriller.

This is not to say it's flawless. Some exposition is handled better in places than others for instance. However Alfonso Cuarón has achieved a completely remarkable experience. Arguably the film could have been longer given how strong most of it is. The only really hard pill to swallow is the comedy juxtaposed with some stark imagery that looks all too familiar to anyone who has ever seen the News from the past few decades. Nice to see a Pink Floyd reference though (pigs might fly!), and someone finally found a use for Battersea Power Station.

Ideally an audience should see this film with no preconceptions and know as little about the plot as possible. This will be unlikely though due to a staggered box-office release schedule, word of mouth and a plethora of reviews and trailers that are eager to give much of the game away. Ironic then perhaps that it must be said - Children of Men is a cinematic milestone. Great special effects and an effective soundtrack accompany this heartfelt, moving and thought-provoking film. Easily one of the best films in recent memory.