Should be compulsory viewing for all politicians

Rating: 10/10 (14 June 2007)

Starting with the set dressing, this film is scarily prescient of what, with very few key drivers, could become of western society - a bleak view of what happens when those in power think they know best. And yet, there is always hope. To put it in perspective; "Blade Runner" was an example of a dysfunctional utopia - the power of the individual against an otherwise benign state, where the nature of what makes humanity is explored; "Brazil", on the other hand, was a functional dystopia - the power of the state against the 'little guy', where individuality is quashed, and humanity is, where possible, extinguished; "Children of Men", on the other hand, is a truly dysfunctional dystopia - individuals battle against friends and enemies alike to define the human condition. There are no "good guys". There are no "bad guys". Practically everyone has their own agenda, that they want to pursue, using the promise of the unborn to try and suborn morality into "their solution"
Politicians often claim to be on the side of right. And yet, all too often, the result of their self-serving actions makes for more misery and chaos. To try and forestall this, just like the corrective therapy applied in "A Clockwork Orange", all politicians should be made to watch this with their eyes wedged open. Just so that they realise that they have to think of others, rather than themselves, to make things better.