Children of Men

Day 150 - 5/30/09 - Movie #150

BEFORE: Tonight I watch my big sesquicentennial film - one that features another dystopian future (hmm...that word-a-day calendar is really paying off...) This movie takes place in 2027, and everyone in the world is infertile - there hasn't been a birth since 2009. Ironically, we're up in Massachusetts this weekend, visiting my parents' house to see Abby and Jack, our 6-month old niece and nephew.

THE PLOT: In a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.

AFTER: A world with no children has no future - so all of human culture has a maximum lifespan of 100 years. Everyone therefore starts to act in their own best interest, and the world quickly spirals into riots and chaos - makes sense, I suppose. There's a bunch of terrorists/rebels led by Julianne Moore's character, but I never really understood what their motives were or where all these "foogies" (short for refugees?) came from - presumably they came to the UK from countries that were in worse shape?

The big question becomes - will the possibility of the first human birth in 18 years unite the world, or finish tearing it apart? Like the last movie, this film also mentions a flu epidemic, but places it in the year 2008 - ooh, so close, thanks for playing. They never really explain why no one can give birth any more - whether it's genetic or viral or linked to the flu outbreak - I guess it's not that important, but you could say it's a plothole that needs filling in.

The future is apparently very violent, noisy, and filled with last-second escapes.

RATING: 5 out of 10 safe-houses

STATUS UPDATE: I started this project on Jan. 1 with a list of 438 movies to watch - but in addition to crossing movies off the list as I watch them, I've also been adding movies to my want list as I think of them, and recording new movies off cable as before. So even though I've watched 150 films, my list has only decreased to about 385 instead of 288 - so it's been like two steps forward, one back all along. I'm going to try to stay the course for the summer and then re-assess the goal.