Children of Men

Children of Men is a 2006 American-British dystopian science fiction film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men. It stars Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Pam Ferris, Claire-Hope Ashitey and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Set in the United Kingdom of 2027, the film explores a grim world in which two decades of global human infertility have left humanity with less than a century to survive. Societal collapse, terrorism, and environmental destruction accompany the impending extinction. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom—perhaps the last functioning government—persecutes a seemingly endless wave of illegal immigrant refugees seeking sanctuary. In the midst of this chaos, Theo Faron (Clive Owen) must find safe transit for Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), a pregnant African "fugee".

 Children of Men works on every level: as a violent chase thriller, a fantastical cautionary tale, and a sophisticated human drama about societies struggling to live. This taut and thought-provoking tale may not have the showy special effects normally found in movies of this genre, but you won't care one bit after the story kicks in, about a dystopic future where women can no longer conceive and hope lies within one woman who holds the key to humanity's survival.

Children of Men used several lengthy single-shot sequences in which extremely complex actions take place. The longest of these are a shot in which Kee gives birth (199 seconds); an ambush on a country road (247 seconds); and a scene in which Theo is captured by the Fishes, escapes, and runs down a street and through a building in the middle of a raging battle (454 seconds). These sequences were extremely difficult to film, although the effect of continuity is sometimes an illusion, aided by CGI effects.

The film received very positive reviews. According to the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes, Children of Men received a 93% overall approval out of 196 reviews from critics, and on Metacritic, the film has a rating of 84 based on 36 reviews. According to Metacritic's analysis of the most oftenly and notably noted films on the best-of-the-decade lists, Children of Men is considered the eleventh-greatest film of the 2000's.