Last week I took the opportunity to catch a movie in the theaters. This itself is an event considering I saw only one film all of last year [albeit just a month ago]. Additionally, I went by myself. I never go to movies alone. The first, and only other, movie I went to alone was a bio of Martin Luther. I think I'm liking the solo experience. If I had been a little braver in my younger days, I might have tried this more. Anyway, the film I chose to see was Children Of Men, adapted from a novel by PD James. It was released somewhat silently at the end of last year in limited venues and hit broad audiences just last week. I had read a couple of reviews that sold me on it.
It's an interesting premise. Thirty years from now there's an infertility epidemic; the youngest person in the world is eighteen years of age. A world without children has gone crazy, and only Great Britain has escaped total anarchy [no, it's not a comedy]. England, however, is inundated with refugees, many illegal aliens, who are the target of mass persecution. When a young refugee girl is discovered to be with child, action is taken to remove her from the country to insure the child's safety. What ensues is a futuristic nativity story where the birth of the child is the greatest event of a generation.
The movie was powerful, masterfully filmed and brilliantly conceived. It's heavy on language and violence, so definitely not for the faint of heart. If you can't get out to see it, file it mentally for a DVD rental. It's worth it.