Review of "Children of Men," DVD version

Review of

Children of Men, DVD version

Five out of five stars

 This movie is simultaneously depressing and entertaining. Theo is played by Clive Owen and the setting is in England in 2027. For reasons that are not explained or likely even known, no baby has been born for eighteen years. The youngest known person is a celebrity and was recently killed. England is now under a brutal martial law and there are roaming gangs of thugs that will attack anything they can. For example, when Theo takes the commuter train, it is pelted by members of a gang. There is a strong anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, people of color are being systematically rounded up and caged, ghettoed or worse.

 When Theo’s former lover has Theo abducted, she asks him to help her escort a young black female out of the country. At first, he is not told the reason why, when he agrees and is part of a group traveling to their destination, they are attacked by a gang and his former lover is killed. Yet, they manage to reach their safe house. While there, Theo learns that the black female is pregnant, a modern miracle to say the least.

 The action is brutal, England is a nation in many ways at war with itself, Theo and the woman are in the thick of a battle between the British Army and the ghettoed immigrants in an event they call “the uprising.” This film is very powerful, for in the midst of what is essentially a race war, the only current hope for the human race to continue is a black woman with a child. Another powerful scene is when Theo and his small group hide out in an abandoned elementary school. It is sad to see what should be a place of joy rotting for lack of need. There is a glimmer of hope at the end, but it is only a glimmer.