Children of Men

"The year 2027: the last days of the human race. No child has been born for 18 years. He must protect our only hope."

2006 1h 49m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 8,181

Science FictionThrillerAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

“The year 2027: the last days of the human race. No child has been born for 18 years. He must protect our only hope.”

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Cast

Clive Owen
Theo Faron
Clare-Hope Ashitey
Kee
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Luke
Julianne Moore
Julian
Michael Caine
Jasper
Pam Ferris
Miriam
Charlie Hunnam
Patric
Danny Huston
Nigel

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writers: Temple Clark, John Greaves, Tracey Wilson
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $76M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

458+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, shot by Emmanuel Lubezki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Tavener. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alfonso Cuarón shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfonso Cuarón directs. Emmanuel Lubezki behind the camera. John Tavener scores. Alfonso Cuarón cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $76M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 20 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5458+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, shot by Emmanuel Lubezki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by John Tavener. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Alfonso Cuarón shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Clive Owen and Clare-Hope Ashitey and Chiwetel Ejiofor carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The year 2027: the last days of the human race. No child has been born for 18 years. He must protect our only hope.".
11IMDB entry: tt0206634 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 23 themes, including "future", "government", "police state", "based on novel or book".

The technical file

Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki
Original score: John Tavener
Editing: Alfonso Cuarón
Production design: Jim Clay
Costume design: Jany Temime
Makeup / hair: Graham Johnston
VFX supervisor: Frazer Churchill
Sound: Richard Beggs
Stunt coordinator: Steve Dent
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $76,000,000
Box office: $70,595,464
Return: 93% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Children of Men (2006)

Awards

Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Alfonso Cuarón

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

lkredhat2016-02-28
★ 6/10
A strong premise and great cast prompted my interest, but the movie falls short of its promise. Clive Owens gives a great performance and a few of the scenes are remarkably memorable and resonant. However, there are very long stretches where the movie simply stagnates and the plot drifts away, especially towards the end. Overall, it's rather melancholy and despite the "action" scenes, not especially thrilling. If you like sci-fi movies set in dystopian futures, or are a big Clive Owen fan, you may still find it worth watching despite its flaws. An aside: One of the "extras" on the DVD has some heavily accented academic trilling at length about the movie's philosophical meaning. It's entertainingly over-the-top and almost unintelligible: jargon piled into a Dagwood sandwich of contradictory abstractions. Anyway, if you don't watch too much of it, its good for a laugh.
talisencrw2016-04-09
★ 10/10
Cuaron's masterpiece so far (including Gravity, which was gravely miscast). This film is: a) easily the best film of the decade of the 2000's; b) the finest dystopia film since 'A Clockwork Orange' and probably the best sci-fi since '2001: A Space Odyssey'; and c) all the evidence you need that Clive Owen should have been selected as James Bond in place of Daniel Craig. Heartily recommended to anyone interested in how great both science fiction and cinema can possibly be. You may be depressed with the state of both the world and mankind, after watching it, but you won't be disappointed in the possibilities of cinema.
Shreyance Parakh2017-05-04
★ 9/10
Thought provoking piece of art !! CHILDREN OF MEN....How a baby's cry can make the whole world stop, the bullets stop flying in a war, people forget all their pain, the only thing that matters is how to make that precious gift of god smile again..The movie depicts it beautifully! When the world is falling apart, coming to its end, how a THEO does things that he otherwise would have not done for anything or anybody else...It doesn't seems practical that how at every point of time there is somebody to see them sail through, but that is all LIFE is about...HOPE...There's a THEO in everyone of us...It's in our hands...to choose, THEO or Luke...The world will surely end someday but till then we must all protect the CHILDREN OF MEN, protect the world...Do our bit for the mother earth..!! P.S. - loved the laughter of the babies in the end!! Scenes I LOVED - 1. When Julian was shot. 2. When Theo thought Jasper was dead. 3. When Dylan was born. 4. When Theo said to Luke "It's a GIRL" 5. When Marichka expressed she isn't coming. There may be more, but these are all I remembered. Michael Caine was adorable as always, Julianne Moore was pretty, Clive Owen was perfect, Kee was sweet, Miriam was, don't know, clean...at heart !