6. Children of Men

Alfonso Cuaron, 2006
US/UK/MEX

While this film excels in many areas, boasting an outstanding cast, a beautiful sense of scale, incredible cinematography and inspired direction, Children of Men was the best science fiction film of the decade for one reason above all of this; its world. The direction, sense and cinematography combined with the best art direction of the noughties to create perhaps the single most accomplished vision of the future ever seen on screen. The world of Children of Men feels terrifyingly real, yet wholly relatable to.

That director Alfonso Cuaron manages to create such a fundementally “English” feel to the film may come as a surprise when one takes into account his Mexican background, although it could be considered that it is in the political detail (the fear of immigration) that gives it this very localised depth. Cuaron’s knack of forming character can be seen in the supplementary material produced alongside his earlier films, wherein he produced a novella detailing the histories of the characters featured in Solo Con tu Pareja and Y tu Mama Tambien, and with Children of Men this extends to beyond the human, with the world of the film being as much of a character as anything.

The cinematography of the film is to die for, with Emmanuel Lubezki’s wonderful tracking shots being a thing genuine wonder, while the plot manages to tell a very basic tale whilst maintaining originality an indeed surprise. The philosophical angle holds up academically too, with renown philosopher Slavoj Zizek being one its staunchest supporters. The influence of Children of Men has already begun to be felt, with Terminator : Salvation being little more than a wanton homage, and in turn a poor imitation.

Children of Men is an incredibly satisfying piece of cinema, and representative of a decade that proved incredibly successful for a trio or Mexican filmmakers. Guillermo Del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro González Iñárritu (and to a lesser extent Guillermo Arriaga) brought a fresh wave of talent to the mainstream from South America, and should be considered one of the defining aspects of cinema in the first decade of the 2000′s.