P.D. James' Cautionary Tale Brought to Life by Alfonso Cuarón

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2007)

I didn't think it possible for Alfonso Cuarón to top himself, but this movie is a masterpiece. Part "Road Warrior," part "Nativity Story" -- this work stands as one of the best films of 2006. Sadly, the film may be too bracing, original, and honest to find a mass audience.
There are at least three set pieces, seemingly uninterrupted shots running for several minutes of intricately choreographed action, that draw the viewer into the story like no other film before. I'm certain some digital trickery was employed to achieve these impossible results, but the effects were fully hidden on a first viewing. Alfonso Cuarón deserves every directing award available for these three scenes alone.
But a word for the original author is in order: P.D. James wrote the novel about this Malthusian nightmare future and should not be forgotten. Ezra Pound once described poets as 'the antennae of the race.' By this measure, Ms. James is poet of the first order. We have been warned.
If you care about movies, and their power to influence the way we live, you must see "Children of Men."