The Favourites
Children of Men
In 2007 the last human was born. Twenty years later, a world shuffling towards extinction continues, no light at the end of the tunnel, unsure why they remain here. No children. No future. This is the setup of Alfonso Cuaron’s 2006 dystopian masterpiece Children of Men. Thrust into this hopeless world, we meet Theo (Clive Owen), a disillusioned former activist who, after losing his son years prior, has settled into a quiet, rotting existence. When his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore) requests his help in securing the travel of an illegal immigrant, Theo is thrust into a plot of betrayal, intrigue, and, ultimately, hope. And while it takes the entire film for Theo to fully embrace the potential of tomorrow, the film ends with a dream that the sun will rise on a better day.
At the start of the film, Theo (like most people in the film) has lost all hope for the future. He passes his days in a near-drunken stupor, the only highlights being visiting his one and only friend Jasper (Michael Caine) who lives in a secret forest compound with his catatonic wife. He is drifting, listless in a dying world. He rejects the initial call to action Julian puts forth because for Theo there appears to be no fight left. A once-promising activist, the death of his son not only ended his relationship with Julian but his pursuit for bettering the world altogether. Theo’s tragedy acts as a microcosm for the tragic situation of the entire world. The world has lost its children, and with it, all will to live is slowly draining from it with each passing day.
You see, Theo's faith lost out to chance. So, why bother if life's going to make its own choices?
But there is still fight, both in the world and in Theo, even in the beginning when it seems all hope has been lost. We can see this fight in the world in general. Despite the borders being shut down and the government of Britain enforcing strict martial law, people from other countries still flood the island nation. They come to Britain because they need to believe that something is better, they need to believe that there is a better life. These refugees refuse to stop fighting, refuse to go quietly into that good night, even though they are the final generation. There is hope for the future, even if that future is just one day more.
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