Destined to be a classic

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2007)

Children of Men is a masterpiece, but it is not easy to watch. The violence and tension is relentless, and the movie is so well filmed and edited that you can't help but be swept along. The reward is as emotional as it is cerebral  you are forced to ponder just how valuable life is, despite humanities wholesale disregard of it.
The movie supposes that at some point in the near future, humanity stops having babies. The reason is never explained, and is a mystery to the characters as well. The effects were disastrous. 18 years later, we find the lead character Theo, a disillusioned office worker and former activist, just trying to survive.
Religious groups across the world have declared the absence of babies to be punishment from god. Some try to do penance by self-flagellation, others cause uprisings. Governments have fallen across the world, and Britain (the setting) is holding on by a thread. Resorting to a fascist state, the main function of the government now seems to be oppression of immigrants, and battling various terrorist groups.
Theo is unwillingly drawn into the conflict by his ex-wife, Julian, who never left activism and now runs a quasi terrorist group bent on gaining rights for immigrants. Theo's brother is a high ranking government official, and Julian wants Theo to get papers and help escort a young woman out of the country. The kicker? The young woman is pregnant.
What should be a simple smuggling trip turns nightmarishly complex, as factions from all sides seek to control the mother for their own purposes. The sheer disregard shown for life by these factions is all the more shocking because they are supposedly trying to protect a life. Along the way we can't help but be reminded just how precious life is  and how fragile.