Children of Men

Monday, November 24

7:00 PM

DFAB Room 131 (Humanities Room)

We will continue our look at the work of filmmakers who set out to take certain film genres and elevate them to works of art by watching the 2006 Science Fiction film Children of Men, directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón, acclaimed director of Y Tu Mamá También, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Gravity.

Children of Men takes place in 2027.  Humans have become infertile, leaving society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom, where the last functioning government imposes oppressive immigration laws on refugees. Clive Owen plays Theo Faron, who is called upon to help a refugee woman who may be pregnant with the first child in eighteen years to escape Britain to join the "Human Project", a supposed scientific group in Portugal dedicated to curing infertility.

Based on P. D. James's 1992 novel of the same name, Children of Men was highly acclaimed by critics for its exciting and violent chase-thiller elements, its thought-provoking cautionary tale, and its virtuoso cinematography, exemplified by long, complex tracking shot that go on for several minutes without cutting.  On their list of the best movies of 2006, The A.V. Club, the San Francisco Chronicle, Slate and The Washington Post all placed the film at number one.  

Please join us on Monday, November 24 at 7:00 PM in DFAB Room 131 for a gorgeous film that, for all its dreariness, manages to uplift the spirit with themes of hope, redemption, and faith.