Children of Men is a movie about a dystopic future where
infertility has become pandemic to the point that no child has been born in 18
years. The cause of infertility isn’t known and despite efforts no cure or
solution has even begin to be found, so the world is living in a state of
perennial hopelessness; that is until Kee, a refugee in Britain is discovered
to be pregnant. A key scene in the opening of the movie is the car scene in
which Kee and Theo’s journey truly begins. For Theo, it is the end of his role
as a observer and beginning of his role as a hero, although a passive one at
that.
At the
beginning of the scene, Theo is awoke, unknowingly, to his new found purpose in
life which is simply to save humanity.
For Theo, this task takes on an even larger significance than the future
of the world; it’s a tribute to his clearly lingering relationship with his
ex-beau Julian. Their personal moment of shooting ping pong balls back and forth
is immediately interrupted by her untimely death. From this point on Julian’s
ambition to save Kee are lived vicariously through Theo, which is exemplified
by the ominous dead tone during and after the shooting. When thinking about
Theo’s newfound purpose, I couldn’t help but reflect to the scene when he is
attempting to get papers from his cousin for Kee. When there, he can’t help but
question what drove his cousin to continue to work, which is a question that’s
really being directed towards all of society. When juxtaposing these two
scenes, it’s clear that Theo is the only person who truly has a purpose in life
that is only realized upon waking up in the car to his future destiny.
Interestingly, the van in the scene
is from the Biological Institute. Biology literally means the study of life, something
the society in Children of Men was incessantly trying to master so that they
could create life, while the only person on earth who can create life is being
driven in the stolen Biological Institute van. Even more ironic, the van is
obviously Government sponsored, and one of the prevailing themes throughout the
movie is the anti-immigration sentiment displayed within the move. While the
only person who is able to achieve the miracle of life, is in fact one of the
Fugee people that the government is persecuting and trying to rid society of so
venomently. By filming the scene in a single shot the director very effectively
added a heightened sense of tension and significance that makes this already
pulse pounding scene stick out further.
Viv, you've offered an interesting view into the motives of Theo. I agree, he seems somewhat reluctant and hesitant throughout the entire movie, in consideration to his actions, once Julian has passed. His mood is entirely bland, that is until Jasper is shot. I feel as you do, that he is assisting Kee as if to honor the memory of Julian.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about the fact that in this new dystopian society, Theo is the one with a purpose and his cousin, the rich and successful man is not. His cousins life is centered around the collection of various things and the acquisition of wealth. However, there really is no reason for him to have historical things (such as the statue of David) because human history and future has essentially become irrelevant. Theo on the otherhand, after being recruited to get these papers, is actually doing something of substance that they hope will be able to prolong human existence and solve the problem of infertility.
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