Julianne Moore: Selected Work is a retrospective in honor of the Academy Award-winning actress, who will be the special guest for Feature VII (April 24), a fundraiser benefiting Film Streams.
When it premiered in 2006, CHILDREN OF MEN was critically, if not commercially, successful. However, in the last year, the film has been seemingly revived, cited often by writers and political pundits for its contemporary relevance.
The film, set in 2027 Britain, depicts an apocalyptic police state, devoid of children and hope. A rebel group headed by a woman named Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore) is fighting for immigrant rights, and is intent on smuggling a young woman to safety.
Despite its recent relevance to the Western world, the pain and loss that CHILDREN OF MEN brings to life is one that many in the Middle East and Central America, for instance, have been experiencing for decades. The at times contentious relationship between developed nations and refugees from underdeveloped countries is not a new phenomenon. The film’s vision of the future has always been rooted in real-world politics, and that’s what makes the film powerful.
Director Alfonso Cuarón told Vulture recently, “This [film] was not imagination. People were talking about [these] things, just not in the mainstream! What’s really relevant now is to stop being complacent.”
If watching the film today sparks action in viewers, it seems Cuarón’s mission as a politically engaged director has been accomplished.
— Diana Martinez, Film Streams Education Director
