Thursday, January 11, 2007

Children of Men

This was one of my most anticipated films of the year. I have been a fan of Alfonzo Couron since his version of Great Expectations. This is the kind of sci fi that is less fun and more scary than anything else because it feels so real and so near in the future. Couron jam packs each frame with so much detail that your first viewing will keep you busy just absorbing the world and getting through the plot. The DP, Lubetzky uses very long shots to show you that this world is real and not a set piece or a series of fx shots. He does an outstanding job of generating a tense, scary, future. Thinking about it afterwards I think it ultimately hurt the film to keep the shots so long (with the exception of one scene). The director and the DP get to show you the movie but the editor does not get enough of a chance to make you feel the movie. As much as I admired this film, and loved some of it's techniques, I can't help but think that it could have been better, or deeper with more audience participation. There is no chance for the audience to read between the lines because there are no lines, (or cuts). I was surprised at two things: One, at how uneasy I was during this film, and Two, at how much humor was worked into the film, although it is kind of generating a nervous laughter. I recommend this film to anyone who loves films, but I can say, that I wouldn't want to watch this film again anytime soon.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was just about to post about this movie. I loved it. I thought there was an excellent balance of tension, warmth and humour. I definately felt uncomfortable though the movie which was great because I really became involved. The cinematographer did an excellent job with the long cuts and the documentary style which seems to be quite a change from his previous films. I also really like Alfonzo Couron. The movie that sold me on him was not Great Expectations (which I did like) but Harry Potter 3. Harry Potter 3 was by far the best of the movies made so far. The story had structure, each seen was important to developing character and story, a wonderful balance action, drama and comedy, and fantastic cinemtography. None of the others have done this. I think Alfonzo is one of the better story tellers around right now.

1:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I forgot to say that I thought Children of Men reminded me of Half Life 2, which I really liked.

1:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hate to keep leaving comments but I just noticed that I spelled scene as 'seen'. I feel quite foolish.

4:22 PM  

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