Children of Men
May 2007 Reviewed by: Josh Barber Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

It’s 2027, and humankind is facing extinction. No child has been born in almost 20 years, and cultural panic is starting to set in. The world's governments react in different ways, but it seems that only Britain is maintaining a semblance of peace, though random bombings and totalitarian control rub up against each other on the streets of London. Theo (Clive Owen) seems resigned to fate and spends his time with aging hippie Jasper (Michael Caine). Theo is shaken out of his stupor by world-changing news, though, and reunites with an old girlfriend Julian (Julianne Moore) on a desperate journey to save humankind.

Children of Men is science fiction, but not the "laser guns and flying cars" kind. It is based on today's Britain, just exaggerated somewhat, and that's what makes it powerful -- it's fictional, but it could be real.

This is by no means a beautiful movie. Britain is filthy, the picture is grainy, and the cinematography seems almost careless. But conversely, all these elements help sell the reality of the film. The streets and buildings look run down, as though a despairing society that no longer sees a reason to care has been inhabiting them for years. The visible grain gives the movie the look of a documentary. And instead of offering well-framed, painterly shots, the film has a seemingly haphazard composition that makes you feel as if you are witnessing events as they happen in front of you. Certainly this movie has a lot of detail that will really come out in HD, but you shouldn't feel cheated if you're still in standard definition.

The audio design really adds to the realism, too. Sound comes at you differently on the street than in the woods and differently in a cramped, windowless room than in a spacious gallery. The gunshots are frightening, ricocheting off metal all around you, but what's really gripping is the silence. And when we move about the inside of a minivan like a slowly circling fly, the voices move around us, as well.

There's no commentary track, but the other special features definitely make up for it. The best is probably "The Possibility of Hope," a documentary that doesn't actually talk about the movie so much as the theological, philosophical and cultural forces that exist in our world and seem to be aiming us toward the future the film imagines. It is not the deepest examination of the material, but it is solidly grounded and quite fascinating.

Conversely, "Under Attack" will probably garner the most attention, since it explores the way the film's many long, unbroken shots were planned and executed, for example, the shot of a car unfolding like an origami swan while actors dive out of the way.

Slavoj Zizek, one of the participants in the "Hope" documentary, also comes back solo to offer his comments on the film itself. Rather than just rehash what he's already said, he offers insight about the film's cultural origins and how effective it was as a work of science fiction.

"Theo and Julian" is all about the way Owen and Moore brought their characters to life and is actually a bit deeper than the usual fluff pieces like this. "Futuristic Design" deals mostly with the complex set dressing, while "Making the Baby" gives away the film's little secret: those long takes aren't as "unbroken" as they seem.

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