Stage 2 English Literary Studies Task 1: Film Scene Analysis SACE no: 391345R

Task 1 – Children of Men Analysis Script

Introduction
Slide 1
My name is Arabella Kirk and today I will be analysing the techniques and cinematography used in Alfonso
Cuaron’s 2006 dystopian film, Children of Men.

Slide 2
Children of Men, set in 2027, explores the themes of faith and hope in a world suffering from complete
infertility. With the youngest human alive ‘Baby Diego’ being murdered at the beginning of the film,
threatening mankind with the thought of extinction as the last hope to save humanity has been murdered.
A disillusioned bureaucrat, Theo Faron, becomes the unlikely hero of the worlds fight for survival as he
must protect the world’s last remaining hope for restarting humanity.

My chosen sequence takes place between 55:30 and 59:90. When Theo, Kee, and Miriam find safety at
Jasper’s house, but are quickly tracked by the Fishes. Jasper claims that by finding the ‘Human Project’, Kee
will be able to live safely. In order to help the trio escape, Jasper selflessly sacrifices himself in order to let
them go.

Slide 3
The film and narrative techniques that I have chosen to analyse are Camera Angles and Movement,
Diegetic Sound, Narrative Catharsis, and Performance of the Actors. These elements are crucial to this
scene in order to create emotional unrest and dramatic tension through the use of film and narrative
techniques.

Technique 1 Camera Angles & Movement

Slide 4
Specific camera angles are commonly used in film to convey an effect or emotion rather than simply
exemplifying a sense of space. The variance of camera angles that are used in film are there to enhance the
narrative, theme and overall mood of the film.
With handheld shots, the camera is carried by the operator, often creating an uneven movement. These
shots allow for the operator to follow action very closely, creating a greater sense of immediacy for the
audience, and may mimic the movement of a character in point of view shots.
Stage 2 English Literary Studies Task 1: Film Scene Analysis SACE no: 391345R
Slide 5
Cuaron has chosen to present the majority of the film with unstable handheld cinematography as it allows
the audience to experience a higher level of immersion within the scene. The scene commences with a
long shot of Jasper’s house and has been filmed with Steadicam turned off. With the Steadicam turned off,
it gives the impression that this is from the point of view of one of the Fishes looking out over Jasper’s
house. This is setting up for the next shot, which is the alarm being triggered by one of the Fishes.

Slide 6
As soon as the alarm is triggered, the camera immediately switches to a close up of Theo and the camera
follows him as he moves towards the footage presented from a security camera. The camera angle then
changes to what seems to be from Theo’s point of view, as the audience we can see what footage is being
taken on the security cameras. This is done for majority of the film as Cuaron wanted it to feel like the
audience was seeing the world how Theo saw it, and wanted to include the audience in the action going on
on-screen

Technique 2 Diegetic Sound

Slide 7
In Children of Men, Cuaron exclusively uses diegetic sound in the chosen sequence to promote a sense of
immersion experienced by the audience. Diegetic sound refers to the sound that originates from within the
film’s world. It can come from either on-screen or off-screen but will always occur at the same time as the
action occurring on screen.

Slide 8

Slide 9
This scene starts off calm and peaceful with the sound of birds chirping. This calmness is quickly broken by
the sound of the rudimentary home alarm that has been created from a cacophony of different sounds
including banging of metals, guns shooting, bell ringing, and a dog barking. These sounds combine to give
the audience an unsteady, panicked feeling as the sounds don’t fit together and are playing unevenly. The
sound of the alarm slowly transitions into the ambient sound of nature as the characters move from inside
the house to the car outside, this was done to create dissonance in the scene. The remainder of the scene
is backed up by the famous Rolling Stones song ‘Ruby Tuesday’, which gives the scene an upsetting feels as
Stage 2 English Literary Studies Task 1: Film Scene Analysis SACE no: 391345R
although the song is written in D flat major, it follows a Minor chord progression, giving it an underlying
sad tone and meaning. As well as a recurring lyric singing ‘Still, I’m gonna miss you’ Which refers to Jasper
missing Janice and Theo missing Jasper.

Technique 3 Catharsis
Slide 10
In the world of filmmaking, narrative catharsis is commonly used in scriptwriting, and more precisely used
when developing screenplays, this refers to purifying emotions. Films that create catharsis can emotionally
move an audience while also leaving them satisfied with a conclusion.

Slide 11
Throughout this sequence, Cuaron has utilised catharsis to provide dramatic relief for the audience. With
catharsis being used in this sequence it allows the audience to gain a further understanding of the
characterisation in the characters, particularly in Theo and Jasper. When we see Jasper bring out the
suicide kit ‘Quietus’, it helps the audience understand the emotions that Jasper has been going through,
and this portion scene was done with little dialogue, only Jasper softly saying, ‘love you’. With the song
‘Ruby Tuesday’ by The Rolling Stones playing underneath, it enhances the sadness of this scene. With
Cuaron choosing to include catharsis, particularly in this sequence, it creates more dramatic tension and
contrast for the audience throughout this fast-paced moving scene.

Technique 4 Performance of the Actors

Slide 12
Acting introduces us to worlds and cultures far beyond the borders of our society. The performances of the
actors throughout films need to convey the storyline as well as following the director’s instructions and
display Cuaron’s overall vision. This sequence displays Cuaron’s vision and how the actors worked together
to portray this vision onto screen. When a character is being portrayed in film, TV, or theatre, it is
important that the actors understand the characteristics and intent of their character in order to play a
believable and relatable character.

Slide 13
It can be seen that a lot of thought has been put into the way that the actors have delivered their lines and
how they react with each other. This is prominent in this sequence when Jasper is explaining to Theo on
where he should to go and what to do. As Jasper is explaining to Theo, Theo is ignoring the directions and
keeps repeating the line “We need to get Janice”.
Stage 2 English Literary Studies Task 1: Film Scene Analysis SACE no: 391345R

As this line is repeated by the actor, Jasper keeps ignoring him and continues to explain, hoping that Theo
will catch on that he and Janice will not be going with them in order to complete the escape plan. When
Jasper finally announces that he will not be joining Theo, the camera switches to show Theo, his face goes
blank clearly in a state of shock, as we can tell that Theo fears Jasper losing to the Fishes. This shows us
Theo’s relationship with Jasper, without having to explain it on screen. The way that Jasper responds stays
relevant to the way that Jasper would usually behave as he tries to make Theo feel better by telling a joke,
which is something Jasper would do throughout his time spent on screen. This proves that the actor has
thought about the characters given circumstances and the way that he would react to heavy situations.
With an accurate performance of the actors, it lets the audience empathise with how these characters may
be feeling, rather than just hearing a script being read aloud.

Conclusion
Slide 14
When these 4 film and narrative techniques are used together, they are able to create a sequence with
high dynamic contrast, tension and emotions. The director’s intent was to keep the audience on the edge
of their seats throughout the duration of the film and that has been achieved by cleverly using the film and
narrative techniques to tell the story even further. Cuaron has utilised the film and narrative techniques to
create and provoke emotional responses from the audience.