“How effectively does the opening sequence from ‘Children of Men’ (2006) use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your personal response as a member of the audience?”
‘Children of Men’ is a sci-fi/thriller film which is directed by Alfonso Cuaron, it was released in 2006. It stars Julianne Moore, Clive Owen and Chiwetel Ejofor. The opening sequence to ‘Children of Men’ uses forms and conventions in ways to get the audience intrigued and wanting to watch the rest of the film.
First of all as soon as the film starts the audience is automatically hit with a lot of information about what is occurring at that moment in time of the film. It is clear when watching the opening sequence that Alfonso Cuaron wants the audience to have a clear understanding of the time setting and the place setting. This is because of the constant reminders the audience is given, for example the date of when the film is set in which is 2027 is repeated twice, once on the TV screen which is magnified to make it even more clear but it is then also shown when the character leaves the cafe it appears at the bottom of the screen. Also the place setting is made clear to be London by the red buses the tall buildings and the police uniform which two officers are wearing. London however is shown differently in this opening sequence, it come across as dull, depressing and in the future. This is clear because of the colouring being very dark and gloomy therefore creating a depressive atmosphere. Also to add to it being depressing the character Theo Faron is seen pouring some sort of alcoholic drink into his coffee which makes the audience question why he is doing that. A way in which the audience knows that this film is set in the future is by certain features within the surroundings, such as moving adverts on the buses and motorised rickshaws. The purpose of doing this is to inform the audience and prepare them for the rest of the film. Another way in which Alfonso Cuaron has done this is by having the news on the TV, not only is it informing the characters within the film about what has happened but it is also informing us as an audience.
A narrative function which Alfonso Cuaron uses is introducing a main character. This happens to be Clive Owen and he first appears walking into a cafe acting uninterested at what is existing at that moment. As all the other characters within this scene are acting shocked and worried and Clive Owen who plays Theo Faron is completely calm it makes the audience see this as very unusual and creates enigma, making the audience question why this is. The audience can tell that Clive Owen is going to be a main character because of the camera movement. For example when he leaves the cafe s does the camera. The camera follows only him focusing all of the audience’s attention onto him.
The pace of the opening sequence is rather slow and there are not many edits. This is to reflect the mood of the film and also that the fact the world has come to some sort of stand still at this point in the film it would not be as effective is there was to be a fast jumpy pace. Music is used in the opening sequence to establish the mood of this scene. The music is played from the TV when the dates of the birth and death of the youngest human being, Diego Ricardo is shown. This creates a miserable, upsetting atmosphere for both the characters and the audience. The costumes of every character within the opening sequence of ‘Children of Men’ are dark, plain and dingy. No one stands out from the crowd; every character blends in making the audience focus more on what is being said than shown. The costumes reflect everything else that has been established so far in the film such as the depressing mood.
Alfonso Cuaron uses technical codes in order to gain all of the audience’s attention. A way in which he has does this is by at the very beginning of the film there is a blank screen however you can hear a voice over of a news broadcast. The point of doing this is that by having a blank screen the audience has nothing else to focus on but the things they are hearing so therefore gets them intrigued into the film. A sound bridge is used at this point when you can hear the news broadcast with a blacked out screen it then continues when eventually seeing the news broadcast on the TV. This adds to the effect of keeping the audience interested.
The camera movement within the opening sequence is kept very basic and so is the editing to match this. Only straight cuts are used, simply switching between the TV and the character Theo Faron. The reason for this would probably be to not distract the audience from what is being said. Like mentioned before the camera follows the character Theo Faron which seems to become handheld once left the cafe which creates it to be realistic for the audience as if they are walking down the street after him. This involves the audience in the film. The camera follows Theo Faron down the street and then pans around him focusing the audience on him pouring alcohol into his coffee and then the camera becomes static for a few seconds to then reveal the explosion from the cafe. This becomes a big shock for the audience as it was so unexpected and again creates enigma, making the audience question why and how that happened.
I personally got intrigued right from the start of this opening. The entire enigma created made me wants to see the rest of this film. I found the whole setting and time period very interesting and wanted to find out more of what has become of our country. The fact that the opening was so depressing and dark it made me want to see the rest of the film to find out if there’s happy moments or a happy ending. To conclude on all of this it is clear to see that this is a very effective opening which I personally think is mainly down to the enigma as it captivates the audience’s attention straight away.
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