Children of Men Analysis

Children of Men (2006)

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron

Cinematography: Emanuel Lubezki

Streaming on Netflix.

It's a science fiction dystopian thriller - it's a world where fertility has stopped and it's a warzone everywhere. Miraculously, when a woman gets pregnant - Theo must ensure her safety.

At the core, this film is a survival thriller - it works on primitive levels. People trying to save a pregnant woman amidst war zones - it's an accessible story. But what Cuaron does masterfully is, he convincingly builds up the world - it feels so real and immersive. A simple story masterfully executed is always better than a complex, layered story executed in a substandard way. 

Cuaron uses every filmmaking tool to tell the story, to convince us of the world - most of the camera movements have a realistic, handheld vibe - it gives an unsettling effect. The long takes are unbelievably beautiful, and if long takes aren't executed or utilized to their best - then is when people find them gimmicky. There is a scene in the car, where they are attacked by people - that scene was breathtaking, because of the spontaneity of the events on screen. The camera finds multiple subjects within the scene and moves towards them, and every camera move is motivated and not random in this long take. 

The imagery of the world is so strong, we see navy blue and brown a lot and the look has an unsaturated vibe to it. The production design and costumes plays a key role in bringing in this kind of a look to the film, because the costumes, the entire roads and the walls are in a certain color a lot of times. 

One technique Cuaron uses in a lot of his films is, he never calls attention to the "scale" or the "budget" of the film. For example- the way they use extras in this film is so clever, they never show us the 100 extras walking beside - the extras just pass by behind the wall and we can only see them when the handheld camera moves a little away from the subject. This makes us believe that they're not extras and that people are all around, they're behind the walls and they're behind the camera and they're everywhere. It's not a film anymore. It's real. That's Alfonso Cuaron for you.