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Rating: Humans are no longer born. Nor are they "cultivated" this time. The start of Cuarón's work focuses on a dystopian vision of the next two decades: in 2027, the youngest person in the world is 18 years old, infertility has brought humanity to its knees. Humanity is destined for extinction by the end of the century, and the absence of a future has generated chaos. London is the last stronghold of civilization, if it can be called civilization: a totalitarian regime based on racial principles, streets that serve as stages for attacks and riots, refugee camps that evoke the horrors of the previous century.
In this decadent scenario, Clive Owen is the disillusioned personality, apathetic in the face of the degradation before him. Michael Caine is the carefree spirit, the only anchor of relaxation for the viewer, called to observe long, urgent sequences often laden with violence. Julianne Moore is the hope and reactivity to the (apparently) inevitable destiny.
"Children of Men" is a film about rebirth. It recovers and rewrites Western theories on the origins of humanity. Theo and Kee are the new Joseph and Mary desperately searching for a future. "Tomorrow", is the last word, the last concept, that the film leaves us. And it's no coincidence that a woman, black and African, with a child (a female-messiah) embodies this tomorrow (updating the suspicion that gender and racial connotations have dehumanized mankind).
The imagery is stylistically perfect. War, death, and fear mixed with (re)birth are presented with clean, realistic cinematography. Long and wonderful long takes bring the viewer closer to the fictional world (the backward escape and the very lengthy final shot make one cry out for a miracle).
Unmissable.
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