Children of men essay

How effectively does the opening sequence from 'Children of Men' use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your personal response as a member of the audience?

The movie ‘Children of men’ is a science fiction film set in London 2027, about the population of the world not being able to reproduce anymore. It was directed by Alfonso Cuarón and was released in 2006. This essay will be focusing on the opening sequence of the film and how effectively it uses forms and conventions of a film opening.

At 0:33 we hear the narration of a news story, which tells the audience important information about what is happening in the current time zone of the film. From 0:33 to 0:55 we see nothing to do with the actual plot of the film, only credits, but what we hear is what attracts the audience’s attention. The use of non-diegetic sound within those 22 seconds creates a tension effect and builds up suspense while showing a black screen. This effect is used so the audience can concentrate on the useful information being broadcasted vocally, instead of physically, so they can understand the current situation.

At 0:55 when we finally are able to see what is going on, the first thing we see is people looking up at the news story on the television. From what we see in that first frame, shows an awful lot of what emotion is being portrayed. The dark, gloomy colours from the people and coffee shop help create a miserable and dull atmosphere for the audience. Also, we can see from the ghost like and neutral facial expressions that the civilians in the coffee shop are deeply interested and mentally grasped by the news story. The director also portrays a sense of sadness and uncertainty from the faint weep at 1:29 to 1:31.

The use of mis-en-scene in this opening sequence is very crucial. In the coffee shop the lighting is kept very low key to keep the atmosphere very dark and mysterious. Even when the camera first shows outside the shop, the lighting is very dark and gloomy to help keep that atmosphere dusky whether the shot be outside or inside.

When the scene has its first cut, its cuts to the news story on the television and we hear about how the youngest person in the world, who was 18, has died today (1:17-1:30). Already the audience is faced with their first enigma, and we are left asking ourselves questions such as “why was the youngest person alive 18?”. Also, not only was the youngest person alive only 18, but he was beaten to death on the streets of London. This helps the audience question the current situation of London in the time and age of 2027.
The director’s use of an enigma is very creative and clever; it creates tension and suspense within the audience, leaving them hungry for answers and grasps their attention so they carry on watching the film.

We see the main character in the first shot of the film as he shuffles through the coffee shop crowd. After the shot has cut from the television news story, a tracking shot follows the main character out of the coffee shop. As an audience we see for the first time the outside world, and we are appointed the time and location from the small banner at 1:50. A good link to increase the familiarity is the couple of red London buses driving past, this helps creates a relationship between the audience and the film if they are from, or have visited London.
As the camera pans from 1:50 to 1:55 we are able to see a full 180 degrees of the streets of London. The use of cloudy and gloomy colours, for example the rain effect and the dirty red buses, helps the director create a dark and miserable atmosphere in the scene. This effect helps create a dark mood for the audience.

As the camera slowly tracks from the coffee shop to the green metal stand (1:31 to 2:05), nothing interesting happens, yet the audience is focused on the main character. This helps create a tension effect and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. We see the main character pouring some sort of alcoholic beverage into his drink while at the metal stand (2:03 to 2:10), which then puts immediate statements into the audience’s head, and the audience questions his lifestyle and what his life intakes. However, as soon as the audience start to ponder on the alcohol situation, the explosion blows their trail of thought and stuns them, creating a jumping effect from the audience. This effect is good because at this point, the audience’s eyes are glued to the screen and they are ready to focus on the main plot of the film.

In conclusion, the film ‘Children of men’ uses fantastic tension devices to help keep the audience on the edge of their seat all the way up to the explosion. Also, the use of shadowy and misty light sources helps create a gloomy atmosphere which is critical to set the mood of the film. In my personal opinion, the opening to this film really impressed me and definitely made me jump when the explosion went off, and the way it made me jump is because of the way it made me pay full attention with the use of the slow pan and tracking shots.