 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
71.106.189.147
In Reply to: Review: Children of Men, after due consideration. posted by Audiophilander on January 10, 2007 at 14:01:43:
I disagree pretty strongly about a plausible explanation for the infertility being needed to anchor the movie's plot.I got the strong impresssion that the people in the movie don't really know... that so many of the potential catastrophe's hanging over our heads began to happen that it could have been any one or a combination of them.
The joke Michael Caine told early on about the guy proclaiming that he had a plausible theory for the infertility was a big clue that the characters in the film didn't really know.
Also the newspaper headlines in the room where Julainne Moore was first talking to Clive Owen were full of thengs like "Nuclear Fallout Devastates Africa" and another mention of nuclear holocaust in Kazakstan and another "Nuclear Fallout Devastates ... (couldn't make out the country or region)" Then there was a headline that said 150,000 die after leakage (clearly NOT a reference to Olestra).
Also, the burning animals and the unfettered pollution from all the factories showed that the world (or at least their world) had become a - much worse than it is now - toxic mess. Then there was the mention of the flu pandemic. It just seems as thouigh so many systems were breaking down that human female fertility was one of them.
There was also the tv screen that showed the worlds' devastation and showed a mushroom cloud over NYC.
So there were lots of things that COULD have caused it and clearly quite a few years of absolute chaos before and after that point so in my opinion not knowing for sure what it was took absolutely nothing away from the film. In fact I think it put us on a level playing field with the characters which added to the depth and feeling in the film.
In terms of the official reaction to the infertility... except for one clue we weren't shown any of that... it simply wasn't part of the story. The clue was a couple of shots of electronic signs on the London streets that said - to paraphrase - "Not getting fertility tested is a crime" So clearly the official response was one of great concern.
As for Cuaron being anti-science and multi-culturalism. Hogwash. I think you're letting your political views (and perhaps a hyper-senstivity to anything that MIGHT signal something in opposition to them) color the lens of perception thru which you watched this film.
There was not a single moment of that film that was anti-science (though there were many subtle and not so subtle references to being vicitims of technologies used for bad purposes) and the whole film was a paean - of sorts - to multiculturalism.
As a side note I would think you'd applaud the view of the string of newspaper clippings at Michael Caines house when we first get there. The ones that point to our invasion of Iraq as the first fatal step in on the road to where the planet was when the movie started.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
Follow Ups:
c
Agreed. An explanation would not only have been besides the point but also have strained the suspension of disbelief all the more. Movies should take their worlds for granted. I'm sure that after 18 years of no chidren born people would have exhausted the why-did-it-happen talk to death. For whose benefit but ours would they wonder at or discuss possible explanations? When a movie holds my hand it's reminding me it's a movie, it breaks the spell and I recoil. What's important is that long-standing infertility is a fact of life in this world, one established in the nearly too-expositional opening, with the news report of the world's youngest person's death--a fact that could just as easily and probably more effectively have been established by reserving this revelation until the pregnant woman is revealed, Owen's shock coinciding with our realization, naming our nebulous sense heretofore perhaps of "something missing," that we've yet to see any children in this movie.Not a perfect film, but some of its long sequences were bar-raising technical feats to marvel at and make the film worth the watch themselves.
> > I think you're letting your political views (and perhaps a hyper-senstivity to anything that MIGHT signal something in opposition to them) color the lens of perception thru which you watched this film. < <Was it ever any other way with Mr. Philander? He regards "V for Vendetta" as a great movie. Sure, I think Bush has been a horrible President. But I found a three hour interview with James Carville to be more subtle and less painful.
...more entertaining than Children of Men. When I reviewed "V" quite awhile back I gave it 4 1/2 on a 5 star scale, but I also proffered caveats (see link below). Moreover, I do consider Brazil and Clockwork Orange great films (5 star masterpieces) and, if we must provide rankings, all are superior to Children of Men IMHO, which I'd probably give 3 1/2 stars or 4 stars.> > > "Was it ever any other way with Mr. Philander?" < < <
Hmmm, well, if you say so then I guess it must be true, right? (~;^D) But in case you've forgotten I praised Children of Men and supplied valid reasoning for my reservations. Apparently I'm butting heads with folks who want to bypass AMPAS and use the 'lost poetic waxing process' to cast their own virtual best Picture Oscars (grin). Considering the positivity of my review I wasn't expecting to be attacked on a personal basis.
BTW, I don't mind your calling me "Mr. Philander" rather than by my proper moniker or the abreviation (AuPh) if you don't mind folks taking the liberty of refering to you as 'KAFKA Steve' based on your reading too much existential foo into the ambiguities of CoM! ;^)
As always, no offense intended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to respond with more tolerance to a differing viewpoint. If, in the course of responding any of your remarks are caught, killed or captured, the Secretary (Moderator) will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This message will not self destruct in 5 seconds, but will eventually disappear into the archives. Good luck, Steve. :o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cheers,
AuPh
I was especially taken by the portrayal of Natalie Portman's character becoming liberated by being willing to give up her life. The part where she came to realize she'd been fooled and accept the liberation.Overall though, except for being cautionary tales I wouldn't even bother to compare the two movies.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]