"Children of Men" - It's been a month since I've seen it and I'm still haunted

[Taverner]

That is one fucking eyeworm of a movie.

Every inch of that movie was perfect, but the two scenes in that flick that I can't get out of my head are the attack scene in the car, and then the scene with only a music background where Clive Owen, the mother and the baby are walking through the warzone and all of the soldiers just stop fighting, amazed, crossing themselves in some cases, and letting them walk by. Man that movie haunts you!

What did you think?

[Aristus]

1. I think Michael Caine gave one of the most moving, sincere and astonishing

performances of his career. His final scenes with his wife and with the soldiers are simply jaw-dropping.

[Taverner]

3. Yes, I don't cry in movies and that part had me welling up

[AnneD]

2. It has been months since I've seen it....

and I still find myself thinking about it. I work in a public school-so it was particularly haunting on so many levels.

Edited to add the seen where they were walking out-but the scene when the midwife protected them and was thrown into the concentration camp like 'detention' center is the thing that haunts my dreams.

[Taverner]

10. That was sad, definitely

Thing is, I could see any of us here being any character in that movie.

[judaspriestess]

4. I love anything Clive Owen does

and I thought this was a very good movie.

[PassingFair]

11. If HE was James Bond, I'd actually...

PAY to see one of those in the theater!

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Gooood film.

[datasuspect]

6. the sequence where the pass the gates into the wealthy section

while "in the court of the crimson king" is playing.

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

7. Very good film

Even a bit underrated, if you ask me.

[Taverner]

9. Yes, I would have to agree

In a perfect world, this would have been an Oscar contender.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Excellent movie.

But the book by P.D. James was even better.

[leeroysphitz]

14. May I respectfully disagree?

I recently read the novel. I enjoyed it immensely! However, I missed the tension, grittiness and above all the realism captured in the film.
I don't want to give any spoilers but I didn't find the novel plausible at certain key points. The film, however, seemed to go out of its way to look as likely even inevitable as possible. JMHO.

[Skittles]

17. she is in the movie

in the first scene - the crowd in the coffee shop - that's her holding the dog I believe

[Swede]

12. Entertaining but not enjoyible.

A very good movie,I'd watch it again. But it was hard to watch.

[zonkers]

21. Very true. Good film. but a big downer.

[leeroysphitz]

13. I'm with you. That film was sublime.

I haven't allowed myself to become so tense and emotionally invested in the outcome of a film since I was a kid.

[AnneD]

15. I was fortunate enough...

to see it this summer with my 17 yo daughter. I am a big science fiction buff and my daughter has had the fortunate misfortune of growing up in fandom. She wanted to see something else but this was one time I was insistent-despite her

She is glad I put my foot down. It was the first time she was exposed to this theme. It was reminiscent of an Arthur C Clarke book I read once so it didn't have the shock to me as it did for her. She has sworn that she doesn't want kids (Hey, I said the same thing at her age). We had some very wonderful, thought provoking conversations about children, society, and the sense of hope that children represent (which is why I wasn't as bummed out at the ending as she was). We have seen more movies this year than I have in years-including several foreign films. Children of Men ranks highly for thought provoking. Of course we enjoyed Knocked Up and Enchanted and films of that nature but Children of Men will stay with you long after the lights come on.

[Skittles]

16. I agree

after 32 years it took over the top spot on my favorite movie of all time (from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). It is perfection.

[mike_c]

18. I was utterly blown away by Children of Men-- agreed, it is haunting....

I also agree with your comments about those two scenes in particular. I was also struck by the brutal realism of the drive into the immigrant concentration camp.

[Writer]

19. If you want to be haunted again, see "I am Legend." (possible spoiler)

The story structure between the two movies is almost identical: a dystopic future; the fated protagonist protects the innocent; a confederate dies in the process; the protected finds providence in the end.

I'm truly amazed by the sobering nature of both movies. Were both directed by Gen X directors? I ask this because our age group tends to have a rather bleak view of the future.

Both are exceptionally powerful films.

~Writer~

[Taverner]

20. I think you may be onto something

Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) was born in 1961
Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) is a Gen X'er, growing up in LA during the 80's. I couldn't find his birthdate.

[Writer]

22. It was just a thought that came to mind... because many of the movies...

since the late 1990's have been little bits of film noir, or dressed down discussions of societal norms (such as "Fight Club" and "American Beauty.")

Even franchises such as Batman and James Bond have become more humanized, where the audiences are more apt to believe, if not identify, with the characters. I believe this all stems from Gen X'ers who despise pretense and don't possess much hope for themselves or their future.

And as a Gen X'er myself, I find idealistic movies such as "Across the Universe" nauseating.

[Taverner]

23. I agree - the boomer back-patting has always nauseated me

[alphafemale]

24. About the soldiers letting them walk past....

they went right back to fighting.

I loved how all the animals were shown going to the Clive Owen character.

[Taverner]

25. I know - but it was one of those scenes that reaffirmed humanity despite the circumstances

This may sound strange, but I found it strangely uplifting.

That our humanity would still exist, however muted.