What In Tarnation?!?!? In the Classroom

Tonight I went to see Children of Men, the most fascinating and interesting action/adventure movies that I have seen in a very long time. Directed by Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men has a very lived in and plausible view of the near future. In the movie, women are no longer able to give birth. The youngest person in the world, aged 18, has just been killed in the opening moments of the movie. England is the only superpower still in existence. Naturally people from all over the world want to move there however England has closed the border and is actively seeking out illegal aliens and shipping them back out or worse.

The action takes place against this dark backdrop but it isn’t so out there that it is totally unbelievable. My favorite thing about the movie is the handheld style of camera work that adds to the already intense feeling of uncertainty. The movie also earns each of its surprises. My favorite scene take place entirely inside of a rather small car under siege as the camera slowly pivots in the middle of the car to capture all the action. Quite intense and interesting. With all of that Cuaron manages to slide his sly wit into the movie at unexpected times. If you are one of those people who wants all plot points explained clearly, you might need to skip this one. You are expected to just accept the premise of the movie without explanation.

Unfortunately, Children of Men seems to have gotten the short end of the stick in the release department. At least in this area of the country. We had to go to St. Louis and catch an early show, no later show was offered. If you do get a chance to catch it, I do recommend it, though be forewarned of some brief nudity and loads of cursing.

Class dismissed!

Whew, this was a close one.