I thought this scene was thematic play at it's best. It reminded me of Coppola.

For example, the film Apocalypse Now would be an utterly ridiculous film if taken literally. The entire film hinges on it's ability to convey the symbolism and the thematic elements. A lot of the scenes would NOT happen in regards to realism and regular protocol done during war, and I'm sure many people pointed that out at the time. It's not meant to be a strictly realistic portrayal of war. That's the genius of it, in my opinion.

I saw this scene the same way. Sure, you wouldn't normally have everyone just stopping in awe to see the baby, and then resuming war right after. But I felt that the scene was an important one which conveyed just how miraculous it was to see the child and how it seemed to cease all war at the moment, but then when one person fires another missile, back everyone goes engaged in the war of it all. For me, instead of seeming silly, it felt right in the context of the movie, and ultimately was one of my favourite scenes (one of the more emotional ones for me personally).

All in all though, I loved your review. Just my thoughts.

Peace,
Mike.

Where to start?? Children of Men was an incredible film from start to finish. The camerawork was amazing. Michael Cane was both hilarious and heartbreaking. Clive Owen gives arguably the best performance of his career. The final 30 minutes were some of the best of any movie ever. Amazing is not enough to describe it.

A

I understand exactly where you are coming from, but it didn't ring true for my own experience.

I think I had such a hard time with that scene because of how realistic the world was shown to us. Everything fit, everything was painstakingly concise with regards to making it seem like the future, to pull us into this fantasy world. I have less of a problem with them ceasing fire, that I totally understand. The impact of seeing a child after 18 years of being told their is no tomorrow, that is a powerful feeling, a powerful emotion and I can totally understand people stopping and staring, even in a state of war.

What I can't understand is why they then are all able to forget about the child 3 seconds later. That doesn't fit and doesn't make any sense to me.

Oh, you silly bitches and your A's.

Oops. I didn't vote till just now.

45 A's.

Pester Arsi into seeing in I'm pretty sure he'd give it an A

FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC.

There's 13 pages worth of posts here and I'm sure I will repeat some comments, so I'd rather not start with that. Gritty, exciting, humorous, creepy. It's a travesty it's getting lost in the accolades shower. Just hand over Lubezki's Oscar now... make sure not to wipe off the blood stains.

Pam Ferris as Miriam is pretty great as well.

Only 2 votes to go...

Raffiki and I both saw it and he liked it as well... hopefully that's an A from him.

it was a shit-fest now that i think about it. the dvd cover knows it too.

I feel like a grinch for giving this movie a B.

Maybe I missed something.

Heh. I actually quite like the cover

Well, I like the colour in the top left.

So who gave this film a C?

Woot! Best reviewed film on KJ!

Mark my words, the rest of the world will follow...

The cover's splendiferous.

Although.. it could've been better. Nevertheless, I bought it earlier today. The extras are shit, but the film is astonishing.

Why is the dvd out already in the UK?

The movie started playing in some countries in September. UK was among those, so 4 months after the theatrical release is normal for the DVD to come out.

Neostorm said he gave it a C+ in the thread.

I guess right now we're behind only King Kong and The New World for longest thread?

This thread would be longer by like 6 pages if we included all the stuff from the other thread.

I didn't love at as much as I thought I would, but still great.

If the film doesn't at least win Best Cinematography, it will be a complete and utter TRAVESTY. Not since Saving Private Ryan has a movie been able to plunge the viewer directly into the midst of chaos.

A-

Loved it and I found the car attack to be one of the most intense scenes I have ever saw and the building walkout to be one of the most beautiful. Nothing much else to say that hasn't been said, except that I give it an A.

A classic masterpiece in every possible way, from story to direction to acting to visuals. Given the hype this has built up, I was afraid I would be disappointed, but it more than lived up to my expectations. A brilliant concept heightened by a fantastic execution. One of the best films I've ever seen.

One of the better things about the script is that you never hear exactly why the world has fallen apart. It wouldn't make sense for the characters to explain to each other what everyone already knows, and no explanation is really needed. This is not a straight sci-fi film, it's a war drama in a sci-fi environment. The story, then, focusing on just Theo, is perfect. No long tales of future history are told, only snippets, and that's perfect for this film.

I really can't do justice to the amazing technical aspects of this film. The camera work is simply jaw-dropping, combining long takes with fluid movement, so that one becomes a part of the action without becoming nauseous. The visual effects are great but subtle - similar to Cuarón's Prisoner of Azkaban - and are effective at presenting a believable future society. The music choices are perfect, and the production design is stunning. Not to mention the fantastic direction. There are several shots that had my head spinning. Visually, a superb achievement.

Clive Owen was by far the star of this movie, both as an actor and as his character. His quiet performance contrasts perfectly to the scenes he's in, and it drives the film. All of the other performances are solid - especially Michael Caine and Claire-Hope Ashitey - but this is Owen's film, and he excels. I enjoyed all the little touches to his character - his lack of shoes throughout, his talent with animals - that just add to the greatness of his performance.

I've no doubt this will be remembered in many years time as one of the best films in recent memory, and certainly of 2006. It definitely deserves it.

I saw this in theatres for the third time, and I keep picking up new details. I think it's wonderful.

To those of you, the minority, who didn't like this film so much and watched this only with an illegal copy (or whatnot), you absolutely MUST MUST MUST see this in theatres. This is one of those films that require at least one theatrical viewing; absolutely riveting.

Peace,
Mike.