New birth for humanity: Children of Men (2006) w/ Timothy Reckart

12/30/24 • 82 min

Oscar-nominated writer and director Timothy Reckart rejoins the podcast to discuss a movie that has a marked resonance with the Nativity story, Alfonso Cuaron’s brilliantly crafted dystopian thriller Children of Men. Set in 2027, it depicts a world that has fallen into despair and chaos because of a worldwide infertility crisis: no one has been able to have a baby in eighteen years. The film, made in 2006, depicts a future England looks in many ways like today’s: childlessness, terrorism, and state-provided euthanasia. In the midst of all this, jaded protagonist Theo (Clive Owen) is given the task of secretly escorting a young refugee woman to the coast - and then discovers that she is pregnant.

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Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Sycamore Studios https://sycamorestudios.com/

DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Previous Episode

Job and St. Augustine in one film: The Tree of Life (2011)

The Tree of Life may well be the greatest movie ever made. Heavily inspired by the book of Job and St. Augustine's Confessions (and even including some lines about nature and grace seemingly derived from The Imitation of Christ), director Terrence Malick gives profound spiritual and cosmic scope to the story of an ordinary family in 1950s Texas.

The film begins with the death of a son, detours to the creation of the universe, and then flashes back to a richly observed sequence of childhood in all its beauty along with the tragic effects of sin - seen through the memory of a present-day narrator seeking the traces of God in his past.

The greatness of The Tree of Life lies in its unmatched poetic power. Unless you've seen another Terrence Malick film, it will be unlike anything you've seen before. Though it has a story, it is less focused on plot development than on an archetypal yet vivid picture of family life and how we gain, lose, and recover our awareness of "love smiling through all things".

The film does not follow typical rules of chronological or visual continuity (one could say it is almost entirely montage), but its improvisational freedom and fluidity in acting, cinematography, and editing make for a kinetic and exhilarating viewing experience. The portrayal of childhood is surely the most beautiful ever put on screen.

Nathan Douglas joins as guest host in this continuation of our series covering Malick's filmography.

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Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Next Episode

In a Lonely Place (1950)

James and Thomas discuss Nicholas Ray's thrilling 1950 film noir In a Lonely Place. In an outstanding, nuanced performance, Humphrey Bogart plays quick-tempered screenwriter Dixon Steele, who enters into a fast-moving relationship with Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) just as he is under suspicion for the murder of another young woman. The investigation puts a strain on their romance, revealing the problems of relationships without the requisite mutual trust.

DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com