Children Of Men and V for Vendetta

                                                     Children of Men and V for Vendetta

Children of Men are a 2006 film loosely based on the 1992 novel of the same name. The film is a sci-fi dystopian thriller set in a near future England, where humans are unable to reproduce and no babies have been born for twenty years. The films plot centres on the protagonist Theo who after a series of events, ends up escorting a pregnant woman Kee to the coast.

V for Vendetta is also a 2006 film based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore. The film, like Children of Men, is a sci-fi dystopian thriller set in a near future England. In the film, the government is portrayed as oppressive and tolitarian and the Anti-hero V are portrayed as a freedom fighter. The films plot centres on V and a woman called Evey who hatch a plot to turn people against the government and destroy the Houses of Parliament.

Style

The cinematography in both films is different. Children of Men use long takes and a stylistic presentation to make the film seem more realistic. The film is noticeable for its cinematography because it uses clever editing and planning to provide an uninterrupted take for over two minutes. An example of this is the scene where Julian is killed in the car which is one long take for over 3 minutes and seven seconds. The film also uses tracking shots to follow the actors around. The cinematography in V for Vendetta is more typical of a Hollywood thriller, with short takes and fast switching of camera angles. V for Vendetta also has a subplot with two detectives, trying to catch V. Children of Men does not have a subplot and is presented as one long continuous story which links with the directors use of long takes.

The majority of environments and costumes in Children of Men are portrayed as dirty, abandoned and ruined. The sets are dark and decayed which links with the subject matter of the films plot. The locations in Children of Men are varied, from deep forests to ruined suburbs. The environments in V for Vendetta show a much different view of the near future than Children of Men does. The film portrays the future as much like it is present day. Most of the costumes and environments are normal everyday locations because of this.

Narrative

The narratives of each film are different but have some similarities. In Children of Men, the film shows Theo (Clive Owen) escorting the pregnant Kee (Chiwifel Ejiofor) to the coastline, whilst protecting her from the rebel group called the Fishes and the oppressive English government. At the end of the film, Theo dies after finally saving Kee. In V for Vendetta, the film shows V (Hugo Weaving) as a freedom fighter who rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a gang at the beginning of the film. Evey, over the course of the film, becomes more attracted to V and his views. V also protects Evey from the government who label her as a fugitive. At the end of the film, V dies and Evey puts his corpse onto an underground train filled with explosives, set to explode below the houses of parliament. The train explodes and the people begin to rebel against the government, believing the explosion to be a symbol.

The similarities here are that both Theo and V look after Kee and Evey and are caring towards them. Theo and V both die in an effort to protect the women and others. The two films have similar subject matter, both deal with themes like government, humanity, morality and dystopian societies. Both films show an extreme society, that both characters are trying to change.

The differences are in the protagonists themselves. Theo is a normal man, thrown into protecting Kee because of his promise to his wife. He isn’t a violent man, he only attacks through self-defence and as a last resort, and he is caring and trusts people. This is different to V, who is a violent, ruthless and efficient murderer. V is manipulative, deceitful and cunning. The one similarity the characters have with each other is that both care about other people, which is why they try to rebel against their governments.

Themes

Children of Men’s main themes are its portrayal of society, immigration and humanity. The society portrayed in the film is falling apart, with overpopulation and the United Kingdom one of the only safe places on Earth, for an unstated reason. Immigrants in the film are shown in fenced pens, waiting to be deported or to go to immigrations camps in poor conditions.  When the rebel group the fishes are discussing about Kee’s baby in the farmhouse, they plan to utilize it as symbol to begin the uprising of England against the government.

V for Vendetta’s main themes is fascism and terrorism. The government portrayed in V for Vendetta, is a fascist society, which blacklists books, for example The Koran, tortures prisoners and uses violence to achieve its aims. V is portrayed as a terrorist by the government and at the end of the film; V bombs the Houses of parliament as a symbol to begin an uprising.

Both films have the theme of symbolism with Kee’s baby being used as a symbol for the uprising and in V for Vendetta, with the destruction of the houses of parliament being a symbol for the uprising.

Messages and Values

The message behind Children of Men is that it is a comment on society in the future and how society would react to a hypothetical situation in reality. The idea of humans becoming infertile allows the film to comment on issues that affect the future like immigration and overpopulation and present them in an exaggerated fashion. Another interesting message is the religious sub context in Children of Men. When Kee reveals that she is pregnant to Theo, they are standing in a barn, which could connect to the Christian story of the Virgin Mary and Jesus being born in a barn. Another example of this is when Kee jokes that she is a virgin later in the film. Another interesting message is that in most scenes of the film, an animal is present and animals seem to like Theo. An example is when Theo arrives at the farm with Kee and dogs jump up on his legs. A man comments on this saying ‘they like you, they don’t like anyone.’’

The message behind V for Vendetta is that is a comment of fascism in society. The government are shown as violent and oppressive and using acts of terror to control the population and achieve their aims whilst V opposes them by destroying buildings and murdering people. The film raises the subject of using violence to fight violence. It also has the message of symbolism subtly put in the film. For example the use of the word V and the symbol V is present throughout the film. When V meets Evey, he pronounces her name as E-Vee. His speech at the beginning uses words beginning with V. When V blows up the houses of parliament, the big ben forms a letter V before it is destroyed. When V falls against a wall, before he dies, he leaves a streak of blood on the wall forming a V. Another example of symbolism is the guy Fawkes mask in the film, by handing out thousands of Guy Fawkes mask, he presents it as a symbol for everyone to wear and as an act of uniting people against the government