Children of Men (2006)

Today's film is Children of Men.  It shows a sadly realistic portrayal of a future world.  No spaceships, laser guns, or anything futuristic technology-wise, just a sad, crumbling planet thanks to our actions.  In this film, it's been about 18 years since the last baby was born.  The movie's not concerned with why women can't have babies, they just can't.

Clive Owen plays Theo, a one-time activist who grew up and got a job.  He is asked by his fellow activists, including his ex-wife, to get papers and help transport a young woman named Kee.  Kee is pregnant and needs to go to the Human Project, a group of scientists dedicated to fixing the fertility problem.  The activists, known as Fishes, want to use the baby as a pawn in their political scheme, and the government, well the government just sucks.  So Theo and Kee are trapped in the middle.  However, they do get lots of help from many people who want to make sure that Kee and her baby are safe.

Michael Caine was my favorite part of the movie.

This film is not so much a film about a dystopian future as it is a commentary on our modern society.  The film takes place in England but much of what we see is more about America.  We have a huge mistrust, almost hatred, of immigrants, yet we are a country founded on immigrants.  When Theo and Kee go through the first part of the refugee camp, we see the immigrants hooded and caged.  These people are in the exact same poses as the prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison.  Also, I noticed the floating pig from that Pink Floyd album.

Something else I noticed was the impending danger associated with oranges.  Someone peels an orange in the car, and Theo's ex-wife is killed.  His pot-growing friend, Theo, has an orange right before the rebels kill him.  In the refugee camp, the gypsies share an orange with Kee and her baby, right before they have to run out into all that violence.  Every time we see an orange, someone gets killed.  This also happened in The Godfather.

I think the ending of this film is upbeat and positive.  Yes, Theo dies, but he has to.  He represents the dying out of a diseased generation, while Kee is the new generation that starts over.  She gets to start over fresh with her new baby.  And, the boat that comes to pick them up is named "Tomorrow".  That says a lot to me.  As the picture fades out, we hear the laughter of children, signifying that more children will be born and the world will be saved.  I will give this film a 7/10.