Personal Response to Children of Men

Personal Response to Children of Men The film Children of Men made me feel a range of emotions. Fear, dread and shock were some of my reactions to the various scenes in the film. The whole idea of this dystopian society seemed so realistic and possible that I felt fear for the potential our society has to slowly evolve into a similar situation. Alfonso Cuaron used cinematography and sound to increase suspense and tension, which created fear as well. A commonly used aspect of cinematography in this film was the use of a hand held camera. The hand held camera created a more realistic environment for the audience and made them feel as if they were inside the scene. It suggested unprepared, unrehearsed filming of reality, and provided a sense of instability and nervousness. This type of cinematography was used during the scene where Theo was searching for Kee and the baby during the war between the British army and the refugees in the camp. The hand held camera followed closely behind Theo as he ran through the dilapidated, war-ridden streets within the camp. As he dodged, jumped, ran and stopped suddenly, the camera mirrored his actions as if it was attached to him. This created tension and it showed his involvement throughout the scene. Again, it made the scene seem real for the audience, which heightened the sense of fear and suspense.

Cuaron also made the film seem more realistic and relatable to the audience through the way in which the setting was very similar to our world today. Because this film is set in the future, one would expect that it would look nothing like our current society and would be filled with advanced technology and other concepts that would be seemingly impossible for the present day. However, this film looked as if it could’ve been set in the world we live in right now. This made the film seem more genuine and convincing for the audience.

Overall, use of techniques to make the film seem as realistic to the audience as