Children of Men Film

Children Of Men. “Children of Men” Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Is set in the year 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, Theo Faron a former activist, agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman, Named Kee, to a sanctuary located out at sea, where her child’s birth could help scientists save mankind. In the film Children of Men, there are many crucial scenes to help convey the idea of the film, however I find one of these scenes particularly important; namely the apartment scene.

In this scene Theo is being driven through the streets of London to the Ark Of Arts to visit his cousin Nigel. The director uses a number of techniques to help portray the themes and ideas, such as music, setting, lighting and mise-en-scene. During the apartment scene, the song “The Court Of the Crimson King” by King Crimson is playing in the background; The lyrics in this song help portray the idea of mankind’s demise. Crimson is the colour ascribed to someone who is furious, for example how God must feel toward mankind for its sins. But the wise never refer to God directly, for it seems nutty and conjectured.

Instead they refer to God’s ordained agents, in this age personified as crimson-seated monarch. All the diabolical-sounding protests at the beginning of the sequence is bone-chilling with detail of various biblical verses predicting the end of the world. It implies that infertility is God’s punishment for man’s sins as humanity approaches the grand finale. I. e. the final coming to a head culmination of the human saga. Also during this scene the lighting plays a significant role in creating the mood which the audience feel. It directs the viewer to what the character is feeling, drawing the viewer into the film.

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The scene starts with Theo being driven though the busy and crowded streets of London, full of cars, people and protesters. The weather throughout the first part of the scene is quite cloudy emphasising the dim mood in the scene. It is quite dark and gloomy, this helps portray the connection to the depression throughout the country due to the infertility. The images and lighting are similar to images that record the suffering of people during the depression of the 1930s. However, inside the park the weather starts to brighten making everything look lush and vibrant.

It seems absurd to see such a strong contrast after passing through the imperial gates. This brings to mind the saying “The grass is always greener on the other side” This helps to show how the members of the public see this part of London as a desired thing and that everything is better, but this saying usually ends up being false; these people still live in the same world, it is all an illusion, Further on in the scene Theo says to his cousin Nigel, “A hundred years from now, there won’t be one single sad f**k to look at any of this (meaning his apartment).

What keeps you going? ” To which Nigel replies “You know what it is, Theo? I just don’t think about it”. He is just ignoring the inevitable. Mise-en-scene creates a shocking impact as the viewer draws on their prior knowledge to make connections to the symbols revealed in this sequence. As Theo crosses the bridge to the Ark of Arts, above the Battersea power station, you can see a floating pig, reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s album cover for “Animals”.

As Theo enters the court in the background, you can see a painting of two policemen kissing which is quite a famous piece by the street artist Banksy. After Theo enters the apartment he is greeted by his cousin Nigel. Behind him is the Statue Of David and two dogs in front of it. The Statue of David represents civil rights and the two dogs represent guards or loyalty, But with the dogs in front of The Statue Of David, This represents, Guarding the people, Or keeping the people from their rights.

The scene then cuts to Theo, Nigel and his handicapped son sitting at a dinner table and behind Theo on the wall is a large painting by world famous Pablo Piccaso, The painting is called “Guernica” it was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque country, by German and Italian war planes. Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetrated reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol and an embodiment of peace.

The presences of Banksy, Michelangelo and Picasso artwork help portray the thoughts of society, as these entire artist stands for, peace, civil rights and anti-establishmentarianism. Near the end of this scene Theo and Nigel are talking by the window and behind them you can see again the floating pig. Having this floating pig is very symbolic using another saying “pigs will fly”. This presumably will never happen, a metaphor for being impossible like making plans to touch the sun at night, but having an actual floating pig represents how ‘Pigs Will Fly’ and hope is not lost when it comes to the infertility of mankind.

Using the four techniques, Music, Setting, Lighting and Mise-en-scene, the director has successfully brought the viewers into the movie to experience it as he intended us to, which is to challenge our beliefs of how our world functions. Even just in this one scene there is so much to understand other than just watching the film, but the ideas of the story hidden in plain sight challenging the viewer to read further into the movie and the issues it highlights. Written by Matthew Puterangi.

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