Children of Men - My Experience

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2008)

I saw the poster advertising the DVD. Something about how women can't have babies anymore and the world is on the edge of destruction as result... Ho hum I thought - sounds really contrived. Another end of the world story with a dreadful sounding plot.
A few months later on holiday, I saw the film on a crummy TV and missed the first 10 minutes.
I was fairly interested and the movie seemed to be moving along nicely - the dystopian Brittan, the collection of art relics, the pregnant girl, the constant pets, the mysterious Human Project, the relationship between the rebel leader and Theo. Good low key acting - hey some people face the end of the world differently! Then BAM! The car chase scene. So unexpected. My eyes pretty much popped out of my head, my expectations of the movie shattered and I was so brutally, viscously dragged into the world of Children of Men.
I've never experienced that with a movie before. It's like I had been watching a human interest news item about a bad place and then suddenly that world was crashing though my door. From that moment on, I was there, it's world was mine: the pain Theo felt, the desperation, the drive in him to achieve a small amount of good against a crumbling vicious word, to achieve a victory in his small, pathetic life.
The picture quality was terrible, the sound poor. I didn't understand what was going on, but I was there with Theo. The people that love this film were there with Theo! And the film making emphasized that feeling perfectly - the final battle scene was unforgettably memorable.
A few weeks later I bought the DVD. I saw the start. I understood what was going on. The evil plots and plans. I watched it again. And again.
I have been waiting a long time for this film.
I now have a new favorite film.