Incredible work of art

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2007)

I will have to admit, there's nothing like a director finding his place artistically and getting things into gear. The Universal execs screwed this film over with terrible promotion and press, and I still am in outrage over that, even more so after seeing this movie.
The story is known : Theo (Clive Owen), a disillusioned ex-activist, exists in a bleak future where humanity has been rendered sterile and the country exists in a state of great depression wherein refugees are segregated and dragged into camps that eerily resemble Auschwitz. His only friend is Jasper (Michael Caine) and his immobile wife. Theo's life changes when his lover Julian (Julianne Moore) requests him take a young girl, Kee, out of this country for protection.
The first thing that stands out is the incredible cinematography. The camera truly works like a brush on the easel of film-making in the capable hands of Emmanual Lubezki, and the future as presented to us in this film seems even more stark, real and gritty thanks to the great camera work.
The sets, the dialogue, the outstanding supporting cast and the fast-paced editing keeps this film - whose plot about a dystopian future may cause some people to dismiss it as the usual tripe - taut, thought-provoking and entertaining. It is refreshing indeed to see some smart film-making being done nowadays. This film is one of the highlights of 2006, and should be remembered as a modern classic.