Children of Men

This article is about the film adaptation. For the original novel, see The Children of Men.

Children of Men
A man is shown from shoulder-up standing behind a glass pane with his head visible through a hole in the glass. A tagline reads "The year 2027: The last days of the human race. No child has been born for 18 years. He must protect our only hope."
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlfonso Cuarón
Screenplay by
Based onThe Children of Men
by P. D. James
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEmmanuel Lubezki
Edited by
Music byJohn Tavener
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 3 September 2006 (2006-09-03) (Venice)
  • 22 September 2006 (2006-09-22) (United Kingdom)
  • 18 November 2006 (2006-11-18) (Japan)
  • 25 December 2006 (2006-12-25) (United States)
Running time
109 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Japan[3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$76 million[1]
Box office$70.5 million[1]

Children of Men is a 2006 dystopian action thriller film[4][5][6][7] directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay, based on P. D. James' 1992 novel The Children of Men, was credited to five writers, with Clive Owen making uncredited contributions. The film is set in 2027 when two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Asylum seekers seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom, where they are subjected to detention and deportation by the government. Owen plays civil servant Theo Faron, who tries to help refugee Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) escape the chaos. Children of Men also stars Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Pam Ferris, Charlie Hunnam, and Michael Caine.

The film was released by Universal Pictures on 22 September 2006, in the UK and on 25 December in the US. Despite the limited release and lack of any clear marketing strategy during awards season by the film's distributor,[8][9][10] Children of Men received critical acclaim and was recognised for its achievements in screenwriting, cinematography, art direction, and innovative single-shot action sequences. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing. It was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards, winning Best Cinematography and Best Production Design, and for three Saturn Awards, winning Best Science Fiction Film. In 2016, it was voted 13th among 100 films considered the best of the 21st century by 117 film critics from around the world.

  1. ^ a b c "Children of Men (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  2. ^ "CHILDREN OF MEN (15)". Universal Studios. British Board of Film Classification. 15 September 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Children of Men (2006)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Children of Men (2006) - Alfonso Cuarón". AllMovie.
  5. ^ "AFI Catalog - Children of Men". American Film Institute.
  6. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (22 September 2006). "Children of Men review – explosively violent future-nightmare thriller". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Children of Men". George Eastman Museum. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  8. ^ Hoberman, J. (12 December 2006). "Don't Believe the (Lack of) Hype". The Village Voice. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  9. ^ Dalton, Stephen (18 February 2019). "Children of Men: Why Alfonso Cuarón's anti-Blade Runner looks more relevant than ever". BFI.org.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  10. ^ Riesman, Abraham (26 December 2016). "Future Shock". Vulture.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.