Children of Men

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/
Children of Men (2006)

Directed by
Alfonso Cuarón
Writing credits
P.D. James (novel)
Alfonso Cuarón (screenplay)

Plot Summary for Children of Men (2006)

MPAA: Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity.
Runtime: 114 min
Country: UK / USA
Language: English / Spanish
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Certification: USA:R
Trivia: One scene contains a car driving past a heavily guarded gate and over a bridge towards what is in fact Batterseas Power Station. Between the four smoke stacks of the power station can be seen a floating pig, a reference to the cover image of the Pink Floyd album "Animals".
Quotes: Jasper: Your baby is the miracle the whole world has been waiting for.
Awards: 1 nomination

http://movies.about.com/od/owenclive/a/cliveowen042805.htm
Clive Owen Stars in "Children of Men"
From Rebecca Murray,
Your Guide to Hollywood Movies.
Owen Stars in Universal's "Children of Men" Movie

April 28, 2005 - Amid rumors that Clive Owen will be the next James Bond, the actor appears to be filling up his plate with non-Bond related films. Oscar nominee Owen has signed on to star in "Children of Men," a sci-fi film based on P.D. James' novel.

Alfonso Cuaron ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") will direct Universal Pictures' "Children of Men," with Marc Abraham and Eric Newman producing.

James' novel follows the story of a radically changed world where humans can no longer reproduce. When a woman discovers she's pregnant - something no other woman has been able to do for more than 20 years - Owen's character is assigned to protect her life.

Clive Owen earned an Academy Award nomination for his role in "Closer." Owen followed up "Closer" with the Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller film, "Sin City," and will next be seen in "Derailed" co-starring Jennifer Aniston.

SOURCE: Variety

http://movies.about.com/od/owenclive/a/children111805.htm
Production Begins on the Thriller "Children of Men"
From Rebecca Murray,
Your Guide to Hollywood Movies.
Starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and Michael Caine

Nov 18, 2005 - Production has begun on the movie "Children of Men," a thriller from Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment based on the PD James novel.

Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Charlie Hunnam, and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in the thriller, directed by Alfonso Cuaron ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"). Cuaron also co-wrote the screenplay with Timothy J Sexton and David Arata.

"Children of Men" is produced by Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Hilary Shor & Tony Smith, and Iain Smith. Emmanuel Lubezki is the director of photography with Geoffery Kirkland and Jim Clay on board as production designers.

Cuaron will shoot "Children of Men" in the United Kingdom with production expected to continue through January 2006.

Universal Pictures plans on releasing the film on September 29, 2006.

The Official "Children of Men" Synopsis:
"Children of Men" envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set against a backdrop of London torn apart by violence and warring nationalistic sects, "Children of Men" follows an unlikely champion of Earth's survival: Theo (Owen), a disillusioned ex-activist turned bureaucrat, who is forced to face his own demons and protect the planet's last remaining hope.

SOURCE: Universal Pictures

http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=10035
Children of Men
Release Date: December 25, 2006 (limited)
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Screenwriter: Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Michael Caine
Genre: Thriller
MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity)
Official Website: ChildrenofMen.net
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: Not Available
Production Stills: View here
Plot Summary: "Children of Men" envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction.

Set against a backdrop of London torn apart by violence and warring nationalistic sects, "Children of Men" follows disillusioned bureaucrat Theo (Owen) as he becomes an unlikely champion of Earth's survival. When the planet's last remaining hope is threatened, this reluctant activist is forced to face his own demons and protect her from certain peril.

Directed and co-written by acclaimed filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," "Y tu mamá también"), "Children of Men" also stars Julianne Moore as the leader of an underground opposition group and Michael Caine as Jasper.

The film is produced by Marc Abraham & Eric Newman ("Spy Game," "Dawn of the Dead"), Hilary Shor & Tony Smith ("Eye of the Beholder," "Beautopia") and Iain Smith ("Alexander," "Cold Mountain"). It is adapted for the screen by Cuarón and Timothy J. Sexton ("Live from Baghdad").

http://uk.filmforce.ign.com/articles/701/701650p1.html
Children of Men and Serenity Sequel Talk
Serenity's Ejiofor comments on sequel and Cuaron Film.
by Jeff Otto

April 13, 2006 - You may not be able to pronounce it yet, but the name Chiwetel Ejiofor is starting to gain recognition in Hollywood. Serenity fans will likely recognize the actor as The Operative in the feature film. A few of his other credits include the recent Spike Lee hit, The Inside Man as well as Melinda and Melinda, Four Brothers and Love Actually.

At a recent interview for the new film Kinky Boots by director Julian Jarrold, IGN FilmForce had the chance to ask the actor about his work on Alfonso Cuaron's (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) upcoming film, Children of Men.

Ejiofor explains the plot: "It's sort of set a short time in the future with general sort of political societal collapses as well as these issues of fertility that have created a very enraged and complex society, and it's based on the Peter James novel. Alfonso, I think, has adapted and written a terrific script, and a really good cast of people have come together to shoot the film. And I think he's an amazing director. And I think the work that we were doing on the film is just exceptional. It's one of those things that I don't think anybody's ever really seen before…in terms of a visual sense, and the nature of the way he's pulled out characterizations and so on, I think, is very unique, so it would be an intriguing time… I think it's really going to be quite interesting to see when it comes out."

"I play, along with Julianne Moore, the heads of an anti-government group that is sort of existing on the fringes of society, and we sort of try to get the allegiance of Clive Owens' character."

Ejiofor as The Operative in Serenity (Universal Pictures)

Serenity and Children both have futuristic themes, but Ejiofor says the similarities end there. "I mean, Serenity was different in the sense that it was a very kind of broad, operatic science fiction with all the great stuff that that has. And this is much more...it almost feels like a drama that just has a scientific, or a sci-fi touch because it's set in the future, but could easily be set in the present. So they were very distinct in that sense, and there's not that kind of idea of loads of green screen and massive wires. You know, there's not that kind of operatic science fiction feel to it...to Children of Men."

Serenity's future is indefinite at this point. The box office take was less than stellar, but continuously strong DVD sales have left the door open. "I don't know what that is or that situation... Joss is such an amazing guy, and I'd be intrigued to see where he would sort of take that and take the story and so on, and whether it would be sequels or prequels. I'm sure he could do absolutely anything. He has such an amazing understanding, scope of understanding of the world that he has created. There's that kind of Tolkien universal knowledge of every raindrop that falls. So I'm sure he could sort of take it anywhere that he wanted to."

http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=326222
Children of Men
2006-US-SciFi/Fantasy, Suspense/Thriller
PLOT DESCRIPTION
Y Tu Mamá También and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón returns to the helm to tell this futuristic tale in which society is without hope since humankind lost its ability to procreate. The year is 2027, and women can no longer give birth. The youngest inhabitant of the planet has just died at the age of 18, and all hope for humanity has been lost. As civilization descends into chaos, a dying world finds one last chance for survival in the form of a woman who has become inexplicably pregnant. Now, as warring nationalistic sects clash and world leaders find their grip on power quickly slipping, a disillusioned bureaucrat is charged with the task of escorting the woman who represents humankind's last hope for survival out of harm's way and to the coast where she can safely give birth. Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Michael Caine star in an adaptation of author P.D. James' gripping 1992 novel. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

http://www.cinemablend.com/review.php?id=1363
Children of Men – Preview
Rated: R
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date:  2006-09-29
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Charlie Hunnam, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Produced by Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Hilary Shor, Iain Smith, Tony Smith
Written by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata
Visit the movie's Official Site!

Children of Men envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction.

Set against a backdrop of London torn apart by violence and warring nationalistic sects, Children of Men follows disillusioned bureaucrat Theo (Owen) as he becomes an unlikely champion of Earth's survival. When the planet's last remaining hope is threatened, this reluctant activist is forced to face his own demons and protect her from certain peril.

I'm a little tired of watching Julianne Moore play an overwrought mother. The good news is that while Children of Men is yet another movie from her focused on protecting a kid, there's not much chance of the kid being hers.

The premise is a smart science fiction concept, and smart isn't something we've seen a lot of from Hollywood lately. Though the idea of mankind running out of kids is a little farfetched, exploring it is bound to spark discussion about the way we handle things in our own modern world. I can already sense the Pro Life/Pro Choice crowd lining up in the wings.

The question here is whether or not Cuaron can execute it. Wait a minute, this is Cuaron. There is no question. He's proven himself as a brilliant director, sit back and enjoy the ride. Children of Men is a can't miss movie.

http://www.scifimoviepage.com/art_childrenofmen.html
THE CHILDREN OF MEN - PREVIEW 
The Children of Men (2006)
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Charlie Hunnam, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Rated: Unrated
Opening Date: 29 September 2006
Based on the book of the same name by British crime writer P.D. James about a future in which male sperm count had unexplainably dropped to practically zero across the planet and the human race is suddenly unable to procreate.

Not exactly an idea new to written sci-fi (Brian Aldiss explored the idea in a book titled Greybeard back in the 'Sixties), but when it comes to celluloid SF — which always lags behind its written counterpart when it comes to complex ideas — it is practically "high concept".

By all accounts the Aldiss book is the better one, but the James one gets filmed because, well, James is a mainstream writer and thus accorded the sort of stature that "mere" sci-fi writers are not; which just shows how low SF is still held by the cultural mainstream.

Anyway, the movie should still be intriguing since it is directed by the bright young Alfonso Cuarón of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Y tu mamá también fame — so this just might be the hard SF movie of the year along with The Fountain . . . 

Plot

The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set in and around a dystopian London fractious with violence and warring nationalistic sects, Children of Men follows the unexpected discovery of a lone pregnant woman and the desperate journey to deliver her to safety and restore faith for a future beyond those presently on Earth.

http://www.visimag.com/filmreview/f197_feat01.htm
Feature: Children of Men
Children of the Revolution

One day, Humankind will cease to exist… We caught up with Clive Owen and the cast and crew of Children of Men to discover what it’s like to face such a fate.

It’s lunchtime on the set of Alfonso Cuarуn’s ambitious dystopian thriller Children of Men, and as cast, crew and visiting journalists tuck into a meaty casserole, with apple crumble for afters, Clive Owen emerges to chat about the film. After a gruelling morning spent rehearsing an intricate action sequence that is to be shot in one long and very elaborate take, Owen seems, understandably, a little subdued. Occasionally fixing those around him with his arresting emerald green eyes, the actor gives each question thrown at him due consideration before delivering his articulate answers.

“I’m a big fan of Alfonso. I was a very big fan of his work. And it was such an intelligent, unusual take on a story like this,” he says when asked why he took the role of Theo Faron in Children of Men. “I think he’s trying to do something very bold and adventurous and different and the thing for me is to be playing such a reluctant hero in a way. A guy that’s thrown out of his usual world into this extraordinary place.” The ‘extraordinary place’ Owen is referring to is the near-future originally created by renowned crime writer PD James in her 1992 classic The Children of Men.

Set in Britain, James’s book depicts a world where the Human race has become infertile and resigned to its own extinction. With an oppressive government in place to make sure that the UK’s population goes into the grave with a whimper not a bang, a group of revolutionaries contacts the terminally cynical Faron and lets him in on an earth-shattering secret that will forever alter his worldview.

“It’s very difficult whenever you do things that are based on books because you start hankering after stuff that’s in the book but it’s just a different animal by then,” says Owen, who read James’s novel but decided to concentrate on the heavily revised film script that Cuarуn oversaw. “Alfonso has taken this premise and very much done his own thing with it and I think you’ve just got to go with the script and the film at the end of the day.”

Constantly rubbing the palm of his hand and only intermittently making eye contact, Clive Owen comes off as rather shy, although he’s quick to vehemently correct any misapprehension about Cuarуn’s film. “No, no, no. It’s not science fiction at all,” he urges when someone suggests a genre for Children of Men. “Alfonso’s version of 30 years in the future is now, but worse. It’s not about that [science fiction]. It’s about something else. It’s like the world is in a very sad and upsetting place.”

by Chris Prince

http://www.totalfilm.com/future_films/the_children_of_men
The Children of Men
Apocalyptic future-shock from Alfonso Cuarón...

It's the year 2027 and the world has been struck by a global outbreak of infertility. The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18. But suddenly, with extinction imminent, a pregnant woman is discovered. If only scientists can transport her to a remote retreat, there might be a chance of saving mankind... Wait. Hold on. The near-future. A sole fertile human. It's The Postman, isn't it? Thankfully, it isn't.

Set in and around a dystopian London scarred with violence and warring nationalistic sects, this is Alfonso Cuarón's (Prisoner Of Azkaban) adap of PD James' novel. And instead of Kevin Costner, our hero is Clive Owen's disillusioned ex-activist turned bureaucrat, who must escort the fertile one to safety. Julianne Moore and Michael Caine are also on board as is, oh yes, Charlie Hunnam! "It's going to be great," the Green Street star froths. "My character has four gold teeth and long dreadlocks." That's nice, then.

http://www.latinoreview.com/news.php?id=796
Comic Con Report: Children of Men Panel!
Date: July 25, 2006
By: Mark Lagamayo
Source: Latino Review

In a surprise visit to Comic Con, Guillermo Del Toro introduced fellow filmmaker, Alfonso Cuarón, the director of Universal’s new film, Children of Men, based on the novel of the same name written by P.D. James. The trailer captured the essence of novel of a world with no children and no future. In the year 2027, the human race has lost the ability to reproduce and the last generation to be born has reached adulthood. Despair has replaced hope and war has consumed the island nation of England.

However, a revolutionary named Julian (Julianne Moore) has a secret for a disillusioned government agent, her former husband Theodore Faron (Clive Owen). She and her cohorts are protecting a miracle…a young girl pregnant with child. They attempt to escape the island nation to a safe zone where the baby can be born and the girl can be examined by scientists in the hope of saving the human race.

The gritty realism of the trailer comes complete with illegal immigrants fighting for their chance to survive in a world that is collapsing around them. Urban warfare has replaced the law enforcement as nationalistic sects try to destabilize an already collapsing government. Clive and Moore are joined by Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Charlie Hunnam in a desperate race to renew hope and build a future in world that sees none.

In addition to the trailer, a clip from the movie featured scene that was shot in one single take. Apparently, according to Cuarón, the majority of the movie was made in this way. He said he wanted to capture the immediacy of the narrative by shooting the scenes in a series of single takes. He also used the same technique in a previous movie, Y Tu Mama Tambien.

The project was started in 2001 and has been a labor of love. However, due to various complications it was put on hold and director Alfonso Cuarón moved on to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Soon after completing his directing assignment with the boy wizard, he was back on track to finish Children of Men.

According to him, he wanted to superimpose the reality of the present day with the future of 2027 England. By doing so, he would be able to analyze the controversial issues of today, namely illegal immigration. In the dystopian future of the movie, the surrounding Eastern European and African nations have crumbled into lawless societies. Their only chance lies in immigrating to the wealthier nations in the hope of a better life or at least what life remains for them.

However, the dwindling resources of England itself are growing ever scarcer as nationalistic forces continue their assault on an increasingly dictatorial regime. At this stage of the once mighty nation, illegal immigrants have become criminals. Legal immigrants, on the other hand, are nothing more than indentured servants who are then forcibly removed once they become too old to work.

Cuarón went on to say that he wanted to create a future that was more subdued than most other “future” movies. The aethetics of the film were to be non-standard futuristic. There were to be no neon-colored jumpsuits or acrylic sets. “I wanted a more realistic view of a possible future,” he said. “I wanted an anti-Blade Runner.”

Russian Text:

Лондон-INFO, №36 (288), 29 September - 5 October 2006
CINEMA REVIEW
Рубрику ведет Анна Файнштейн
Children of Men (Дитя человеческое)
Режиссер: А. Куарон. В ролях: К. Оуэн, Д. Мур, М. Кейн, Ч. Эйджофор, К. Хоуп.

Ну что ж, мы еще со времен "Бойцовского клуба" не имели качественно сделанного фильма с участием больших (без кавычек) кинематографических имен, едва ли не основным пафосом которого является "как низведены мужчины в современной цивилизации". И логика развития-эволюции соблюдена: если в "Клубе" дело, при всем мощном социальном психологизме, все же ограничивалось повседневностью, то тут уже глобальная антиутопия: там некогда правивший миром пол загнали в подполье, а здесь он уже и детей зачинать не может - вот и приходится под пулями бегать (с этой жанровой необходимостью, похоже, не сладит никакая унификация-феминизация, можно быть спокойными...) А кроме шуток, сделана картина, действительно, на совесть. Атмосфера стерильно-унылой обреченности передается четко - что в ритме бегов и перестрелок, что в освещении, что в туманных пейзажах, что в интерьерах. Клайв Оуэн в роли спасителя последней беременной женщины на фоне абсурдно грызущегося мира ярок, силен, мрачен и естествен. (Правда, рефлексии его героя недостаточно, чтобы убедить в выхолощенности этого мира - при таких-то персонажах... А тут еще яркие личности кейновского пожилого хиппи). Вот, разве что, процесс слегка затмевает цель...

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