Benefit
Bluelighter
Children of Men is one of 2006's Top 5 films. It's an amazing movie.
Production values were of superior quality; massive single-shot sequences (of course they cheated with CGI splicing) speak for themselves. Set design had a very clear philosophy and adhered to it throughout: with the population rendered infertile, humanity no longer cares about sacrificing for the advancement of the species. No trash collection, stagnant technology in non-practical fields, muted colours, abandoned schools, dilapidated set pieces (potentially they could have done more with the refugee camp I thought). I love plush, beautiful and engaging set design but it didn't have a place in this film.
Heavy influences drawn from contemporary and classical art, music, film and philosophy. Michelangelo's Legless David and Picasso's Guernica framing a sterile dining room were wonderful touches. The film is a richly textured meditation on cultural and religious iconography. The viewer is left to take or leave what they may from the political and social commentary; Cuarón is trying to push you one way, but one of the functions of film is to present visual imagery in a provocative way. Particularly well done was Theo and Kee's entrance into the refugee camp at Bexhill, where their bus passes refugees being beaten, humiliated, searched and killed. The scenes are very consciously reflective of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
Clive Owen is perfect. You've never seen Michael Caine play a character like this before. The supporting cast was truly excellent as well. Peter Mullan was superb as Syd the Immigration Officer.
This is not a film for non-thinkers; if you don't get the cultural, social, political, historical, contemporary and religious references (they are everywhere), then the film will lose much of its appeal and texture for you. Unfortunately, the box office receipts (a paltry 70 mil) suggest most people don't want to think when they watch an action movie.
I can see how a scene like the one captainball's mentioned could border on cheesy; yet somehow it doesn't. Yeah, it probably wouldn't happen like that in real life. But within the reality of the movie it just... works. And it works beautifully.
Can't forget the beautiful and understated score, which blends classical (Handel and Mahler), contemporary and some old school rock (John Lennon drops in with Bring on the Lucie).
I didn't like y tu mama tambien that much, but The Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men have shown Cuarón to be a terrifically gifted director and visual craftsman. Five stars.
Production values were of superior quality; massive single-shot sequences (of course they cheated with CGI splicing) speak for themselves. Set design had a very clear philosophy and adhered to it throughout: with the population rendered infertile, humanity no longer cares about sacrificing for the advancement of the species. No trash collection, stagnant technology in non-practical fields, muted colours, abandoned schools, dilapidated set pieces (potentially they could have done more with the refugee camp I thought). I love plush, beautiful and engaging set design but it didn't have a place in this film.
Heavy influences drawn from contemporary and classical art, music, film and philosophy. Michelangelo's Legless David and Picasso's Guernica framing a sterile dining room were wonderful touches. The film is a richly textured meditation on cultural and religious iconography. The viewer is left to take or leave what they may from the political and social commentary; Cuarón is trying to push you one way, but one of the functions of film is to present visual imagery in a provocative way. Particularly well done was Theo and Kee's entrance into the refugee camp at Bexhill, where their bus passes refugees being beaten, humiliated, searched and killed. The scenes are very consciously reflective of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
Clive Owen is perfect. You've never seen Michael Caine play a character like this before. The supporting cast was truly excellent as well. Peter Mullan was superb as Syd the Immigration Officer.
This is not a film for non-thinkers; if you don't get the cultural, social, political, historical, contemporary and religious references (they are everywhere), then the film will lose much of its appeal and texture for you. Unfortunately, the box office receipts (a paltry 70 mil) suggest most people don't want to think when they watch an action movie.
I can see how a scene like the one captainball's mentioned could border on cheesy; yet somehow it doesn't. Yeah, it probably wouldn't happen like that in real life. But within the reality of the movie it just... works. And it works beautifully.
Can't forget the beautiful and understated score, which blends classical (Handel and Mahler), contemporary and some old school rock (John Lennon drops in with Bring on the Lucie).
I didn't like y tu mama tambien that much, but The Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men have shown Cuarón to be a terrifically gifted director and visual craftsman. Five stars.