Children of Men

I don’t think I have ever watched a movie that felt more ‘human’. The movie showed a lot of human elements through the story. The film overall evokes emotion from the audience. There were themes of vulnerability and hope that were easy to relate to. The characters in the film were one of the major components that made me feel so submerged into the story. Theo was determined to get Kee and her child to safety, because he had hope. Hope is what drives people to do things, even if the world around them is bleak, as is the case in this film. Julian only came to Theo after many years, because she needed help. This act was pretty selfish and I didn’t like her at first because of this, but when it came to the scene where her and Theo were doing the ping pong trick, I began to dislike her less. It made me happy to see others having fun and being happy together. In that moment I forgot about how gloomy the rest of the world was in the film. Kee was in a tough position and scared, but she showed her humorous side in the scene where Theo asked who the father of the baby was and she replied she was a virgin. Jasper also showed off his sense of humor, and this made the film more engaging. I think most people respond well to humor. Jasper and Milenka helped Theo and Kee in the film, even risking their lives for them. When it comes to children, most people will risk their lives for them even if they’re strangers. This is a very human thing to do. The characters’ personalities and their interactions made the film feel very real and relatable.

Another aspect that made the film feel realistic was the way the camera was a bit shaky at times and how it felt like a documentary. In some scenes I felt like I was the one behind the camera and that I was following the characters around. There were no narrations and the camera would drift from the main story and show off the surroundings. This was shown in the beginning of the film when Theo walked out a door turning left while the camera turned right. The surrounding area was shown off and then the camera began to follow Theo as he walked down the street. Another reason why it felt as if I was following Theo around was because of some of the sounds in the film. In one scene Theo can hear some of the other characters through his open window. Then when he walks out of the room, he can no longer hear them until he is downstairs by a open door as they begin to walk in. When the other characters go into another room and close the door, Theo can no longer hear them. When Theo goes outside and hides against the wall by the window that the other characters are at, he can hear them again. Most scenes it felt as if I was following Theo around, and that’s why I only got to see and hear what he did.

The most interesting of all the scenes in the film was the one where Theo and Kee, with her baby in her hands, were shown walking out of the war zone as everyone else just stared. Everyone was surprised and in awe. I thought the war would not continue after this, but it actually did.