Children of Men (2006)
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Dystopia; Epidemics; Extinction; Science fiction; Thriller
In a future plagued by an infertility epidemic, one man attempts to save the first pregnant woman in eighteen years in an effort to help prevent the extinction of mankind.
Set in 2027 Britain, Children of Men—based on the book by P.D. James—opens with the death of the youngest human being on earth, Diego, born in 2009. Humankind has lost the ability to procreate and, without a baby born in eighteen years, the species faces extinction. As a result, international society has fallen into chaos. The rest of the world is beset by famine and war, causing a mass immigration to Britain; the country, in turn, has outlawed all refugees. The government has divided Britain into martial zones and the illegality of all immigrants is portrayed by refugee camps and cages lining the streets of London and outlying areas. The severity of the situation is also indicated by the government issued euthanasia drug, Quietas. The hero, Theo (Clive Owen), is kidnapped by a rebel terrorist group, the Fishes, who fight for the government recognition of all aliens. The group is led by Theo’s ex-wife, Julian (Julianne Moore), who asks Theo to help the group transfer a young refugee woman through government checkpoints to the coast. Soon after they set out on their journey, Julian is killed in an ambush and Theo discovers that the girl he is helping to relocate, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), is pregnant. Julian’s plan was to transport Kee to the mysterious group of scientists at The Human Project, where she would be safe as well as available for research in the Project’s quest to save mankind by curing infertility. When Theo overhears the new leaders of the Fishes discussing how they orchestrated the death of Julian so that they could keep Kee and her baby as a “flag” to catalyze their terrorist “uprising” for the refugees, he takes Kee and her shaman-like attendant Miriam away in the night. The rest of the film portrays their race for the coast, chased by both the Fishes and government immigration agents. Ultimately, Kee has her baby in a refugee prison at Berry Hill, and Theo finally manages to get her to the Human Project ship before he dies from a bullet wound. The film ends with a black screen featuring the title of the film and the sound of children laughing and playing. This ending is ambiguous but suggests that a cure for infertility is found and humanity will survive.
Throughout the film, the Human Project is a mysterious organization located somewhere outside of Britain; although the audience never sees their compound or any of the scientists, it is ever-present through street billboards and the conversation of various characters. The Shaman/Midwife Miriam describes to Theo how the epidemic began two decades before the action of the plot with a dramatic surge of miscarriages until finally the prenatal hospital wings all over the world were deserted. Various theories for the infertility epidemic are posited throughout the film: genetic experimentation, gamma rays, pollution, and punishment from God. It is clear that although science may be to blame, the science offered by the Human Project is humanity’s only hope. Bonus features on the DVD include interviews with Tzvetan Todorov and Slavoj Zizek, among others, who interpret the film as an exaggeration of our own current reality. They posit that modern globalization and technology could lead us to something very much like the terror depicted in Children of Men.
Evaluation: Cuaron’s film achieves an effective balance between the frightening issues at the story’s core and its action sequences. Although the latter part of the film is primarily focused on the fight and flight of its central characters, the tone and frequent, small scenes elucidating the plight of mankind keep the viewer aware of the stakes involved in humanity’s inability to procreate. Although there is very little attention paid to the specific science behind the infertility or its cure, the film could be useful in a course interested in how humanity’s treatment of one another and the environment affects our genetic well-being and survival.
– Lauren Wood Hoffer