Children of Men Essay

Children of Men was released in 2006 and directed by Alfonso Cuarón and features Julianne Moore and Clive Owen, and is set in London in 2027, where the human race can no longer procreate. It shows is a depiction of our world that is entirely different way to how we see it. In the opening sequence, it is obvious that it is a futuristic film set in ‘2027’ not only because the text at the bottom of the screen clearly displays the date, but by the use of repeated hints such as the voice over of the current news in the time and the visual footage of the news, all of this information is pivotal to the understanding of the film. From the opening sequence, the genre of the film appears to be a futuristic drama/mystery and is immediately displayed through the use of dark colours, and other aspects of mis-en-scene such as what we as an audience learn through the voiceover. 

The narrative functions are quite simple; the film starts with normal characters receiving horrifying news and proceeds onwards from. From the very start of the opening sequence, the audience are able to hear news reporters reading out news headlines that inform the audience on what's happened over the last few years this sets the scene for the rest of the film in just the first few seconds. These voices are heard whilst there is nothing visual on the screen, the screen is black, which also makes it easier for the audience to concentrate on what is being said. The last news headline we hear, as the shot changes into a shot of what appears to be a cafe, is one about the youngest child in the world being killed, just aged eighteen. This is very confusing to the audience as it begins to make them ask questions, such as why the youngest person is only eighteen and why so many people have crammed into a small cafe to watch this one news story.  The characters are clearly disturbed by the news, this is shown through an ensemble of shocked facial expressions, crying and distraught body language, and this is an enigma; it encourages the audience to question what is going on. This enigma makes the audience want to continue watching, which is the primary purpose of an opening sequence.

We have the first introduction to the main character, Clive Owens who plays Theo Faron as he enters the café and is pushing past the crowds which brings the audience’s attention to him, which makes the audience consider him as a potential main character in this film. He is also less stunned by the news than everyone else in the scene and stands out against the dreary sad people surrounding him, which connects with the audience because it almost creates a sense of familiarity as we can connect with this character who, like us, is somewhat perplexed about the whole situation but also because we feel we can follow this character through his chaotic journey and it will answer the questions we have. 

The camera moves forward to follow Theo out of the cafe and into the street, which further shows he is the main character we also know he is the main character because. Out on the street, the differences between 2027 London and modern day London are more apparent, helping to set the scene of the film even more so that the scene in the cafe with the news.  During this we see many things that represent what the time period and the location of the film is like, such as the use of motorized passenger bikes on the street, moving images as advertisements on the sides on buses, both suggesting big changes in terms of technology, it is 2027 central London but looks more like modern day Tokyo. The camera moves in a way to allow us to see these factors as again they are significant. The dark and gloomy mood of the scene is once again apparent, with lots of pollution and no real natural light around. There is a distinct lack of colour except for a few dull blue colours and some red in posters and the stereotypical red London buses, just to drill into the audience where they are, the rest is dark greys and blacks and the familiar city sounds of car engines and horns. The camera continues to follow Clive Owens character outside and pans round him to face back the way the character had just come from. This then means the camera can see the explosion from the cafe and using a point of view shot, runs back towards the explosion to show the chaos that has ensued after the explosion with other characters who are also running around in terror and confusion. The explosion is the last thing to be seen in the opening sequence, so this adds more questions to the audience’s minds, making them want to watch more of the film.  Use of sound in this extract is essential for the effect of the loud explosion followed by screaming enables the scene to seem more realistic and hectic, as well as the voiceover being off scene for a while and then on screen diagetic sound when the television is displayed. 

 As a member of the audience, after watching the opening sequence I felt a desire to watch the rest of the film, as there were so many questions that needed answering. I think that the cuts and editing style were relatively simple yet created a very entertaining and endearing opening. The use of the handheld camera mad me feel part of the film, following Chris Owen out of the cafe and into the street.  I like the way it shows enough information for the audience to be able to follow the story and yet hides enough for the audience to have questions and therefore want to continue watching.