This “Making Of” video of Children of Men just popped up on YouTube. It particularly explains just how the long unbroken shots, that may become a Children of Men trademark and something I’ve talked about before, were done. Of particular note is the specialized camera rigs that had to literally be invented to capture the films final shots.
Well, looks like I’ll have to eat my words. Despite my hope that Children of Men would climb in the box office charts its actually slipped to #7 with a $7,412,000 gross this weekend. That brings its US box office total to just over $22,000,000 and its worldwide gross to $54,878,000.
So, who is this young starlet? IMDB reveals only one previous acting role as Marie in 2005’s Shooting Dogs. Well, accomplished or not this girl is hot.
Although Children of Men may be her first big screen appearance on this side of the pond, I don’t imagine it will be her last.
About.com has an interview of Clive Owen by Rebecca Murray where Owen provides an actors perspective on the lengthy and difficult shots that make up so much of Children of Men.
They’re very adrenalized, those sequences, because there’s huge resets. It’s like some of those big ones are four, five-hour resets to try and go again for a take like that. So everybody is very adrenalized, gearing up to go in for one of those takes, and there’s something just a bit magical. I think that technically some of this film is pretty staggering. The operator…most of the film is hand-held and the operator did a really incredible job, I think.
The revelation that much of the film was shot on a hand-held is incredible. I’ve been on dozens of move and commercial sets and the number of times I’ve seen a hand-held pulled out I can count on one hand. If this film does not win an Academy Award for Best Cinematography it’ll be a crime, and though Owen may not say as much I’m sure he’d agree, his praise of Alfonso is lengthy.
I do genuinely think he’s a very rare and unique talent. The thing about his movies is they are whole visions. He doesn’t do that thing of pandering to what he thinks the commercial market wants. He makes his movies. He has a very singular vision and he goes out there and does that. I think he’s very special.
And boy did somebody piss in their Cheerios.
What caused the rise of fascism? What caused the epidemic? What caused regeneration? Once the plot takes shape, it’s more or less about birthing a baby, and the vacuous Children of Men is like an episode of something slightly absurd on the Sci-Fi Channel. Credit goes to Cuaron for smooth transitions and neat camera work.
Vacuous? Really? Did we watch the same movie?
These are ultimately superficial issues in the moody movie, which holds but loses interest since it doesn’t really have much of a point. In the broadest sense, the revolutionaries, most of whom are steeped in eastern mysticism, seem to favor life, but beyond that, Children of Men is devoid of deeper meaning.
This is essentially the exact opposite of my experience in the theater. Children of Men is not a flick that explains everything - and thank God because I hate that drivel. You can read the full review for yourself.
The Ohio Film Critics Association have named Children of Men the Best Film of the Year. Oscar here we come. Other notables in their top 10 include The Departed, Borat, United 93, and Babel.
The Human Project is Universal’s viral marketing site for Children of Men. You can join and check out the forums or complete their ‘challenges’ for ‘points’, the prizes are a little weak if you ask me.
1 Signed Mini One-Sheet
1 T-shirt
1 Beanie
1 Survival Kit
1 Digital Clock Keychain
1 Sticker
It all seems a little pandering and under developed to me.
User blairerickson posted this video on YouTube a few days ago and I thought it was a great little short. It’s a compilation of Children of Men clips interspersed with snippets from the many glowing reviews the movie has received. As far as Children of Men being nominated for an Academy Award in ‘06 I know that that is why the films North American distributors pushed for a limited release at the tail end of 2006.
While you may know that Children of Men is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by P.D. James
