Children of Men

    In the year 2006, prestigious director Alfonso Cuarón created a sci fi film that quickly fell under the radar and doesn't get the attention it deserves. Children of Men is an action/sci fi movie that features Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore and Academy award nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film is set in the year 2027, and every women on earth has become infertile, and when a woman miraculously gets pregnant, a mysterious former activist must transport the woman to a safe haven for her and her baby. All whilst this is happening, everyone in the world is out to get each other and soon different groups of people are on the hunt to stop the main characters and capture the baby. This film not only tells an action packed tale of a dystopian society, but makes larger comments on social and political issues that are paralleled in the real world.
    From the very beginning of the film, the audience is introduced into a poverty stricken world that has run rampant with illegal immigrants who are treated ruthlessly and literally locked up in cages when caught. The film's main setting, Britain, is a bleak and unforgiving world that is filled with the sight of trash bags on every sidewalk and random bombings being a regular occurrence. What this film does is capture the feel of modern society and it's issues and what those issues could develop into in only another decade. The most prominent social issues Cuarón comments on in this film is the rapid movement of illegal immigrants, terroristic groups attempting to overthrow government and the climate change of the planet. In the United States in 2006, the same year the film came out, Latino protests in America was at an all time high and resulted in many new immigration laws and regulations. Other than the major increase in immigrants, there are several acts of terrorism that reflect the terroristic that occurred in 2006. During that year alone, terrorist attacks increased 25% globally and particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan where there was over 20,000 deaths, nearly two-thirds of Iraq's population. The film's grey and gloomy Britain sets a backdrop of fossil fuel emissions that give the audience a sense of dread and leaves a somber feeling whenever the characters are out in nature. What this film did was use a generic sci fi set up as a cover for something that goes much deeper than surface information.
      The best part about this film is the overarching theme that this new-born and it's mother are almost God-like figures. It can be seen that because this baby was the miracle that was exactly what the world needed, and how it's a mystery that the mother even got pregnant in the first place, that the mother can be seen as someone very reminiscent of Mary the Mother of God and the baby is the messiah Jesus. This movie truly does both a great job making a science fiction thriller as well as a larger social commentary that plays on all real world issues corresponding with modern times. Children of Men is the hidden gem of the past decade of sci-fi films and truly displays the acting and directing chops by those who don't get enough attention. I truly hope this film gets the praise it deserves and gets recognized worldwide for it's true beauty.