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A Term Paper on

“The Children Of Men”A Film By Alfonso Cuarón

ByTejaswi (2007D2TS861)

Nayyar Abdul Rasheed(2007A2PS463)

Bhavesh Sangem (2007B3A2713)

Submitted to

Prof. Geetha B

In partial fulfillment of the course

“Critical Analysis of Literature & Cinema”

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

PILANI (RAJASTHAN)

November 15, 2010

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TABLE OF CONTENTSTitle Page...................................................................................................1

Table Of Contents.....................................................................................2

1.Introduction............................................................................................4

2.Plot Summary..........................................................................................5

3.Characters........................................................................................ 6 - 9

4.Themes and Subtext.......................................................................10-13

                4.1. Future as a culmination of past and present.........................10

                4.2. Infertility.....................................................................................11

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                4.3. Wide spread immigration........................................................11

                4.4. Totalitarianism...........................................................................12

                4.5. Reality.......................................................................................12

                4.6.    Fear...........................................................................................13

                4.7. Ideological Isolation................................................................13

                4.8. Hope Floats...............................................................................13

5.Narrative Style.................................................................................14-15

6.Cast.......................................................................................................15

7.Lighting..................................................................................................16

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8.Cinematography............................................................................17-19

          8.1 Long seamless takes..............................................................17-18

          8.2 Background and foreground composition................................19

9.Use Of Special Effects..........................................................................20

10.Sound..................................................................................................21

11.Editing............................................................................................21-22

Conclusion...............................................................................................23

References...............................................................................................24

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1.INTRODUCTIONAlfonso Cuarón Orozco was born on 28 November 1961 in Mexico City, Mexico. At the age of 12 he got a camera as a birthday present. It acted as a catalyst for his love of cinema. He chose to chase his dreams and after a arduous journey he realized them. His first feature film, Solo con tu pareja (1991) won him accolades in various film festivals. His other notable works include A Little Princess (1995) which received two nominations for the Oscar, Y tu mama tambien (2001), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and the most recent Children of Men (2006), considered to be a modern classic by many. He treasures his friendship with two more Mexican filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez, regarded to be the most promising bunch of directors of contemporary times.   

Children of Men    is a film which has been able to carve a space of its own in the cinematic time line. The time is in near future, the year 2027 and presents a world devoid of children and infertility is forcing the human race to see the eventual end.

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Environmental and social decay is helping the cause. The film is set in Britain, whose government is waging a war against terrorism and illegal immigrants from all over the world and treats them one and the same. The director has bravely and sincerely worked to show us a world not of the fantastical sugar coated future science fiction with marvelous technological advancements, but a future which is a real reminiscent of the present.

2.PLOT SUMMARYThe year is 2027, and humanity is at the brink of extinction as they suffer from infertility. The news stories report the death of 18 year old Diego, the youngest person on planet. The story follows Theo (Clive Owen), immersing us in his chaotic world, a world devoid of hope and with desperation spread all over. Countries all over the planet are collapsing and survivors are flooding the shores of Britain which itself is in a state of pandemonium as ideologies fight with the government and with each other. The government doesn’t accept any illegal immigrants and severely punishes those who disobey by torture and even death. Theo’s wife Julian(Julianne Moore), who is acting against the government asks him for a favour. Kee    an African immigrant is to be transported across the border. She promises Theo a huge sum for arranging the transit papers. Theo agrees to help and accompanies Kee, Miriam( Kee’s caretaker),Julian and Luke(an associate of julian) to the border. The events take a turn for the

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worst as Julianne is killed on the way to the border. Through the resulting turn of events, Theo comes to know that that Kee is pregnant and such a revelation has huge stakes riding with it. This idea of hope is faced with its detractors and supporters as the viewer follows Theo on the journey of despair,trust,survival and the possibility of hope.

3.CHARECTERSTHEO

Theo Faron (Clive Owen), the protagonist is a former activist who now is living a life with no apparent cause or leading light and has turned into one among the herds of sheep that the government herds, until he becomes the unexpected guardian to the mother of the first baby on Earth for more than 18 long years. That hope lies in getting her out of a heavily militarized and fortified country and into the hands of The Human Project, an organization whose existence is questionable but is the last hope for many.

JULIAN

Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore) and Theo had been a happy couple and had a baby together. Unfortunately, the baby succumbed to the subsequent global pandemic which amputated humanity by taking away their fertility. They are now separated and lead

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contrasting lives. Julian is now the leader of rebel fighters called the Fishes. She is public enemy number one for the British government Julian still trusts Theo enough to hand the future of humanity to him.

JASPER PALMER

Jasper (Michael Caine) is long time trusted friend of Theo. Despite the meaningless world around him, keeps an optimistic, wildly humorous, sarcastic but pragmatic view of the world.

KEE

Kee is an African refugee carrying the seed to hope in her womb. She is carrying the    first baby on a planet that has been infertile for the past 18 years. With the help of Theo and the revolutionary group The Fishes she must keep herself alive knowing that what she holds is valued by everyone and what's valued by everyone is worth a very high price.

LUKE

Luke is another active member of the rebel fighters. After planning the killing of Julian, Luke becomes the new leader of The

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Fishes. He is tired of the police blaming every bombing in London on his smi-peaceful rebel group. He sees no other option than use violence to prove a point.The prospect of a refugee baby being born will be a powerful symbol for their revolution and he is hell bent not to lose it.

MIRIAM

Miriam is part of Luke's revolutionary group, but rather than being a soldier but acts as the support system and the mother to Kee.She was in healthcare and saw the end as it happened.

SYD

The eccentric Syd refers to himself in the third person, and makes sure he has no reponsibilty towards anyone, not even himself. He does what he wants to. Unfortunately for Theo, it is in Syd's hands that he and Kee are placed as Syd escorts them through the fugee (refugee) camp to meet with The Human Project.

NIGEL

Nigel, a cousin to Theo, is an escapist. Why he bothers to race around the world to save priceless works of art when no one will be around to appreciate them in a hundred years? He doesn’t

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want to know the answer.    He has chosen not to think of the world as it exists and has managed to live a luxurious life.

PATRIC

Patric is a soldier for Luke's revolutionary team The Fishes and as a part of the youngest human generation, he is consistently filled with a violent rage at the hopeless world into which he was born. Revenge fuels his intent as the story develops.

MARICHKA

Marichka is a creepy,lovable    Gypsy woman who doesn't speak a word of English, but becomes a guide to Theo and Kee as they fight on against all odds.

THE CAMERA

Thanks to the exploits of the visionary duo of director Alfonso and Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the camera is not just an equipment in the scene. It acts a active participant in the story telling process and hence provides a very visceral experience of the world for the viewer.

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4.THEMES and SUBTEXT

4.1. FUTURE AS THE CULMINATION OF PAST AND THE PRESENT:

“It’s not about the future – I don’t care about the future. The whole intent of the movie is to show a journey that goes through the state of things, what I consider to be the state of things today. It just happens to be the year 2027.”

                                                                                          - Alfonso Cuaro, Director (Children Of Men)

The film presents a bold perspective of the near future. Its not the fantasy future with high flying cars, seductive technology and nor is it a world in balance. As we live the present times what threatens us the most is the inability to learn from past mistakes. The film depicts a very contextual world where people are paralysed in the sense that they cant think beyond what they are fed. Innocent and brave initiatives, fresh perspectives and new ideas are extinct. Humanity’s    inability to comprehend such a fact and its obsession with past mistakes and rotten ideologies is

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presented in a distinct manner in the movie. One of the signs from a protestant group int movie reads “The Future Is In The Past”.

4.2. INFERTILITY:

“As the sound of the playgrounds faded, the despair set in. Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices.”

                                                                                                                    - Miriam (from The Children Of Men)

Children are one of the most crucial pieces of the narrative if not the most. Their absence in the world is a shattering prospect which has far reaching repercussions. Ideologies clash within themselves and against the state with intent to destroy each other without mercy. The government treats the people like a herd of sheep.The infertility symbolises the cultural extinction of humanity. Its a world where nobody is changing anything and where hope is a forgotten word. No one dares to hope that a fresh perspective ( from the eyes of a child) can lead to transformation for the better.

4.3. WIDE SPREAD IMMIGRATION:

As the world is in chaos, people around the world are facing the worst of atrocities. People from around the world are trying to

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cross the borders of England as it is the last country still having some form of society though it is in tatters too. Environmental factors too are forcing people to leave their homelands and look for shelter elsewhere. The UK government decides to ignore the refugees and form strict laws termign them as criminals and declares that anyone halping them will be punished severly too.

4.4. TOTALITARIANISM/ FALSE DEMOCRACY:

The government is not for the people anymore. A powerful symbol of sheep is used to express how the people are perceived by the all powerful government. The people have almost no say in running the country. The government goes to the shocking extent of providing Suicide Kits to the people to ignore the reality and escape. The government treats refugees with contempt. They are imprisoned, tortured and killed. Their voices are not heard. Even the people ignore the state of society around them and fail to cut their rotten roots from the past.

4.5. REALITY:

The film has a distinct quality to it as it presents a world which is very real and visceral. It doesn’t pretend to present an alternate future or reality. It shows how our ideologies have a tendency to be corrupted when let free. According to Slavoj Zizek, a Slovenian philosopher puts the idea in apt words and says “Children of men

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is a realist film. In a very unique manner the changes the film introduces us to is not an alternate reality but it is just more real than what it already is.”

4.6. FEAR:

In the world shown to us, people don’t have meaningful experience of the world around the,. People are facing countless fears all around them. The government uses fear as a tool to keep the people from questioning their actions. Such a fear is catastrophic for any society as it discourages people to dream of a better world and hence stops them from working to realise any dreams.

4.7. IDEOLOGICAL ISOLATION:

We are moving towards a future where countless ideologies and beliefs are in warring path towards each other. The film shows a very disturbing yet visceral world where different sects and organisations cant co exist anymore and wars are fought everywhere, sometimes even around ideas which are common. It is due to our obsession with the past and our inability to try to pave new way towards a better world. This forces the ideologies to exist in isolation and hence lose their value all together.

4.8. HOPE FLOATS:

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One crucial aspect of the world presented in the film is the desperation all around. The viewer accompanies the protagonist (Theo) in a journey about finding hope through desperation. To reach their destination. theo and Kee have to get on the boat called TOMORROW to reach the HUMAN PROJECT. The boat symbolises their hope floating without roots to a tragic past.

5.NARRATIVE STYLE“Children Of Men” is a path breaking contemporary film in more than one ways. We see the world through the protagonists eyes. The opening scene of the film defines how the film will work and it sets up the foundation for a intriguing narrative. The camera follows Theo throughout the following opening scene: In london in the year 2027, a group of dazed viewers glance up at a television monitor broadcasting breaking news of the death of the world's youngest person, "Baby Diego," eighteen years old. Theo (Clive Owens) enter the cafe and moves through the crowd, orders a coffee, and, after a cut back from the TV screen, walks outside in a continuous shot. A few yards down the street, he adjusts the lid of his paper cup, and without warning a bomb destroys the café he had just exited; a survivor stumbles out of the wreckage screaming and missing a limb.

                           

                                              Clip 5.1                                                                                          Clip 5.2

                                                                                          Clip 5.3                                                             

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The scene sets up the directors intent and provides the viewer with the exposition for the whole movie. The camera sticks on Theo and his vision of    the world around him. The style Cuaron establishes can be called Documentary like Realism.

Children of Men has a vigorously subjective point-of-view: it tracks and trails Theo with almost obsessive attention to his physicality—in one scene, its the squish of his feet in wet socks; in another, the sting of a kitten's nails as it climbs up his leg—peering, from Theo's perspective, at the action surrounding him, often through door frames, windows, and fences. As the viewer see the world with theo’s eyes, the separation between the foreground and the background grows slimmer. Soon the background acts as the storyteller and this is what leaves a distinct, unforgettable mark in our minds.

6.CASTThe movie boasts of a talented group of actors working in it. Clive Owen is effortless as he makes us believe that whatever he feels are raw emotions and what he sees is as real it can be. Michael Cain and Julianne Moore are well known for their screen presence and they don’t disapoint at all.    The whole ensemble cast and

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crew make the movie memorable and leaves a ever lasting impact in the viewers mind.

7.LIGHTING

Almost no artificial light sources are used in the movie. Sticking to the principle of documentating reality, only natural light sources like sunlight, candle light and any such sources which are already present on the scene are used. Such risks bear fruit when the whole film has the advantage of being as colse to reality ass possible rather than being pretentious.

                                                                                                                  Clip 7.1

                                                              8.CINEMATOGRAPHYAlfonso cuaron works with a talented team at the helm to present a near perfect masterpiece. Emmanuel Lubezki, the Cinematographer teams up with Alfonso to creat a visually

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captivating style for the film.    They have used perticularly distinct, unusual and honest shot taking techniques some of which are mentioned below.

8.1) Long Seamless Takes:

The film was shot with very long takes where the camera doesn’t cut but moves from set up to set up often lining up three or four set ups in one take.

One landmark scene in the movie is a car chase scene.    The camera moves around the inside of the car. The camera work in this scene puts the viewer in the car – we feel the danger. We are put in the action and stay in the action. The camera does not cut away so we understand the anxiety of the characters in the car. It is because that we share the anxiety of the characters that this scene has so much impact. Cutting from the car to the chasing mob and shooting the car from the outside would take away the element of desperation and the closeness we feel with the charecters.

Another breathtaking scene is one near the end where Theo is looking for Kee while army is fighting the Fishes. When Theo is being attacked, iat a moment in the scene, few drops of blood fall on the camera lens. The cinematographer says in an interview later that he asked the director to keep the scene rolling as such a

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shot would tell the viewer how real the situation is and hence taking the intensity of the scene to a whole new level. The blood is actually on screen for about two minutes. This is also a long shot and handheld cameras are used. Once again the camera stays with our characters and doesn’t cut away to tanks and explosions and the like. We stay with Theo – when he hides, we hide, we do as he does.    It does have the feeling of reportage. This helps to pull us into the action and keeps us on our toes.

     

                                                                                          Clip 8.1

8.2) Background and Foreground composition:

The cinematogrpaher and the director decided to shoot the film in a documentary like realistic style. Such an undertaking maens that the world they create has to reflect the reality in every frame. They are successful in their attempt to add precise details in the background making it equally as important as the foreground if not more.

In one particular scene, as we follow theo walking on a road, we see people jumping to their death just behind him, commiting mass suicide. The viewer is hence understanding the world shown to him while    in a much more realistic manner.

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Clip 8.2

It would take a lot of space if we go to more such techniques and concepts. When one watches this film he is forced to think while staring at the images shown.

9.USE OF SPECIAL EFFECTS (SFX)Technological advancements has opened new avenues and tools for filmakers of modern times. Alfonso Cuaron has used Special effects in the movie to add to the cinematic aesthetics it already possesses and the effects complement the shot scenes. Special effects used here are seamless, and honetly speaking one cant figure out when an element of the scene is done in post production. Expertise has been implemented in making sure that the special effects are as near the real deal as can be achieved.

The scene of Kee;s childbirth is one of the longest scenes in the film with a lot of responsibilty on its shoulders to be honest. The almost impossible long scene of showing the emotions as well as the actual birth of the child is done using both actual footage and then post processing it with special effects.

   

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                                                                                                                      Clip 9.1

10.SOUNDThe film uses both real sound, sound effects, and background score in the precise amount so as to support the story telling.

In the opening scene we feel the place where theo is using the sounds around him. After the bomb explodes there is a high frequency queel intriduced. Theo    feels that sound buzzing in his ear for while and the audience feels the horror with him.

This is an exxample where sound acts not only as a motif but contributes to pull the viewer into the world it is a part of. Such techniques are used throughout the film.

11.EDITING Children of Men utilizes an unusual editing style to immerse the viewer in the world of the film and create a sense of reality that is crucial to this film. Long takes, the absence of cuts are used making it a documentary of the future, which has never been done before.

The most noticeable editing style throughout Children of Men is the lack of cuts as the camera follows Theo throughout the world of the film. The viewer feels that whatever happens on screen is

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completely unscripted and the camera just happens to be there capturing the detail.

Children of Men is edited in a very linear fashion. Every scene leads into the scene following it and almost no time is skipped. Editing gets very subjective near the end.

An example of this subjective camera movement is the scene where the car Theo is traveling in is attacked and the group has to escape by driving backwards. Julian is shot in the head as they are fleeing. Emotions inside reach its peitome soon and still there are no cuts.When the car finally comes to a stop the camera gets out with Theo as he exits the car. The camera then pans to the road and frames awkwardly on the dead officers before cutting, an edit that draws attention to the way the group murdered the officers and then fled.

                    Clip 11.1                                                                                    Clip 11.2                                                               

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CONCLUSION

Alfonso Cuaron’s Children Of Men is a path breaking film. Its one of those films which stamps its authority in the present time Its honest, sincere story telling techniques makes its mark. It has so many layers of contexts,symbols, and narratve elements which work in tandem with each other. The film captures a world which is staring us in the face. It never tries to preach the viewer and is effortless in its flow. The movie allows the viewer to make his/her own interpretations about what they see and feel. It leaves an everlasting impression. When in future generations, one looks back at the movies

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that defined the previous ones, Children Of Men will surely be in the list.

REFERANCES1.www.imdb.com

2.www.wikipedia.com

3.http://philosophyoffilm.blogspot.com

4.http://cinemacaroni.blogspot.com

5.Interviews of Alfonso Cuaron and Cast and Crew from

www.youtube.com