Opening Analysis: Children of Men

• This is the opening to the film Children of Men:

• This is my analytical writing of it:

The director employs the micro-elements of film to introduce the audience to a harsh, cold world set in a strange, dystopian future. This starts off by the diegetic sound of the news alongside a pitch black screen to indicate the seriousness of the present day with the backdrop of tragic events being delivered. The ominous feeling created is accentuated by the appearance of image as it contains a group of sorrowful looking people in a coffee shop, huddled around to stare up at what is presumably the T.V. screen. They are shot by a hand-held camera which weaves massive amounts of authenticity into the overall presentation of verisimilitude. Highlights of blue and dull colours are edited in to add to the numbing ambiance and to down the temperature of the opening. 

The film is set to create ambivalent feelings and challenge conventional standards of what society should look like to an individual’s mind in a certain time period. Long shots are used throughout to emphasise to the audience the shock felt from the sudden explosion at the end of the opening. This is due to the disruption of still, continuous stream of thoughts by a tumultuous turn of events. Whilst the tracking shot follows the protagonist into the outside world, it stops to linger at the door as if to prepare the audience for a bizarre portrayal of life in 2027. From this pause, the audience visually absorbs a mixture of cultures with minimal inserts of high level technology such as the projection on the building and the advertisement on the bus. Smoke from the vehicles obscures the scenery and evokes a sense of revolt in the audience due to the general idea of pollution destroying the human body. Two people are shown to be exchanging greetings and kisses directly outside the coffee shop which marks it as the first time a portrayal of affection or delicacy is evident in this austere world. However, this is stopped short by the explosion which eliminates the hope of finding anything remotely innocent or lovely in the rest of the film. A shakier camera quickly moves from the protagonist into the explosion. This is followed by the sounds of screaming which indicates that something terrible and violent has happened. The concealment of the actual gory images makes the audience assume the worst, and even after this effect, the shot of the woman holding her own arm at the end of the opening is still immensely horrific. 

The main character played by Clive Owen is portrayed as a stern, reserved man due to the contrast in emotion and action between him and others in the coffee shop. The relatively still, hand-held camera first focuses on the bundle of grieving people whose attentions are fixated on the screen. The protagonist then pushes his way into the centre of the frame, exerting movement and energy in the midst of the heightened tension. This paints a picture of a salmon swimming against the tide; the non-conformist in the sea of orthodox minds. A woman at the front of the group emits a shocked, disapproving noise at the protagonist, signalling that his actions are unexpected and rude. He orders black coffee which corresponds to the colour that he is wearing, and this conveys a sense of seriousness and mystery. He then immediately takes the coffee and leaves without a second glance, which demonstrates his callousness and indifference to the news. The following tracking shot stays with him until he is outside the shop, revealing the dryness of the present day.

The eerie, ambiguous representation of 2027 in the coffee shop is demagnified and thrusted onto a larger scale by the shot of the outside world. The combination of the sad, diegetic music from the T.V. screen and the sobbing of a woman is drowned out by the noises of busy cars honking and vehicles moving. This connotes realism and shapes the former setting to appear somewhat sugarcoated as everyday life now seems to be at fault in possessing any form of sympathy. The main character scans the area around him before adding alcohol to his coffee which shows a hint of guilt. He may be ashamed of his inability to cope directly with either one of the drinks, which can be viewed as a metaphor for his conflicting beliefs or dodgy morals. When the explosion occurs, his indifference is smashed to pieces by a shocked reaction which is highlighted by the camera moving towards the incident that has now captured his elusive attention. The scene ends with the idea that the one who survives is the one that does not seem to care. This is morally disturbing and manages to set the uncomfortable tone for the rest of the film.

• Enigmas that are established

In the first cut, the T.V. screen is shown and the audience can now form perceptions of the news that is being broadcasted. The video of the youngest person in the world getting attacked by paparazzi poses the question: Is liberation being violated?

The news also forms the mystery of why people are unable to reproduce anymore in the world of 2027.

The protagonist’s contrasting actions makes the audience wonder: what is the background of this hostile man?

Strange, fragmented representation of cultures raises the question of who or to which country the world now belongs to.