CHILDREN OF MEN (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006) (Magdalen Auditorium, 7:30pm Sunday 4th Mar)

Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men deftly updates the 1992 PD James novel of the same name for the modern audience. It presents a clear and chilling vision of the near future, a world where women have inexplicably lost the ability to reproduce. Without children there is no future and society begins to tear apart at the seams. Thankfully Alfonso Cuarón decides to keep the explanations about how we find ourselves in this situation to a minimum which does a lot to add to the mood of the film. Backed up by a stellar cast including Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine, the film manages to make for a genuinely engaging human drama in the midst of what could be called an action thriller; on top of this Cuarón still finds the time to make a number of somewhat oblique comments on contemporary society, particularly with regards to asylum, and the relationship between government and its people. It is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2006, definitely one to watch.

Anton Baker (Magdalen FilmSoc President)

As ever our Sunday screenings include free wine/juice.