A Cinematic Analysis In Children Of Men By Alfonso Cuaron

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Children of Men: A Cinematic Analysis
The breath is polluted and water soiled, bizarre groups have formed. Chants of “The world is dying” swell the air as newscasters announce “Britain soldiers on”. Children of men (2006), directed by Alfonso Cuaron is a science fiction film set in the year 2027 in Britain where infertility is rampant and no child has been born for almost 18 years. The director uses various aspects of mise en scene to project an ominous time and to immerse the audience in to the film where the era resonates a World War or post 9/11 environment. There are several cinematic devices used in the movie to achieve the mentioned motive, some of which that will be discussed in the essay are the styles of editing and camera work, both of which …show more content…

But that is not the only notable camera work use in the film, the placement of the camera plays a vital role in the perception of the scene. Replacing camera cuts with long camera takes adds realism and a sense of space to the picture; wherever the camera pans is where the realm exists, and even beyond that. A good example of this is again the coffee shop scene at the start of the movie. As Theo walks out of the shop the camera follows, and pans around the city just like a person stepping out and staring at every detail, similar to how a viewer would if he/she were warped into the film. Then the camera pans over to what Theo is doing rather than cutting to his face, again simulating how a person would react. After the explosion happens the camera runs towards the aftermath and shows the destruction. This whole sequence shows how the director chose the camera to be placed from the viewpoint of a person following Theo, A.K.A the viewer. Another result of this is a feeling of real time, of knowing exactly how much time has elapsed since Theo left the shop and not missing anything that has happened in that time

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