Best Disaster Film of the Decade

Children of Men (2006)

Originally this film had the honor of being my Best SciFi film of the decade. However, I decided it could fall into this category after I saw this category on Rotten Tomatoes (which left me room to add another great film in the SciFi category). In fact, there aren’t many other films that could even be considered for this category in my opinion (I hope Roland Emmerich doesn’t read this, ok, I hope he does).

I felt this film was an instant classic from the moment I saw it. I saw it again over the Christmas holidays. My initial reaction was true (as are most of my gut instincts), this film is a classic.

The plot: It’s 2027 and the youngest person in the world has just died … at age 18. Yes, not only has no child been born in almost twenty years, but no woman has even gotten knocked-up (Apatow Reference!). Seriously though … humanity is on the verge of extinction, and migrants from Africa and Eastern Europe are hoping to penetrate a dystopian London society where violence abounds. Our protagonist, Theo Faron, a jaded activist turned bureaucrat, becomes the sole guardian of Kee, who is carrying not only a child, but possibly the future of mankind. Their struggle to protect Kee takes several twists and turns, and in the process introduce the viewer to several delectable performances (most notably Michael Caine) and one unsuspecting tragedy.

While the plot is genius in and of itself, there are several other highlights I cannot help but mentioning.

The cinematography is superb. Oscar nominated, it should have won. It has the hand held approach but it is perfect in this film. This may be the best cinematography of the decade.

The film has several incredible tracking shots in it. Many claim that Welles’ Touch of Evil set the bar for the greatest single track shot in film (it’s the opening sequence of the film and is 3 minutes and 20 seconds), but Cuaron’s car chase sequence (clocking in at 4 minutes and 8 seconds) meets all expectations.

Theo never uses, or handles, a gun, although they are readily available. Why? This is unlikely for a movie protagonist who must stop at nothing to provide safety to the world's only pregnant woman. This is an underlying theme that many have not commented on, but one that I find strikingly poignant.

Cuaron’s London is entirely beautiful in its dystopian state. The future never looked bleaker, nor as relevant. It has all of the truth of Ridley Scott’s “Chinatown” in Blade Runner without the neon and Eastern influence.

The blood spotting that occurs on the camera lens during the film’s finale is a testament to the nature and vision of this film. Too many directors or producers would choose to reshoot the scene or remove the blood during the editing process. Here, not only is it not a distraction, but an enhancement of the film. It draws the audience in even further than imaginable.

The film has too many references to modern society to count. Multiple essays could be written about this, from immigration to medicinal drug use to euthanasia.

I could start a blog to simply write about this film, it is simply that good. I hope in this entry I did the film justice and just possibly persuaded just one person to view this film.