Every shot in 'Children of Men' that is 45 seconds or longer.

unadog said:
I really don't want to enter this fray. But for those looking for an informed review of the film, I'll offer up this review from "Reverse Shot."

They rated Children of Men at #19 in their "Best of the Decade" review. Their review brought me back to an appreciation of good criticism, whether pro or con, that doesn't limit itself to an academic interpretation of how well a film conforms to certain preconceived "rules" about how a film should work.

Here is their comment on the opening take, plus much more at the link.



http://reverseshot.com/article/19_children_men

Defying expectations, the clarity of Cuarón's vision was apparent in the movie's opening frames.

With stunning confidence, he thrusts viewers into a bleak future: over a black screen, we hear a news broadcast that leads with a story about the death of the world's youngest person—an 18-year-old. Cuarón cuts to a high angle shot of a crowd of people in a cafe, transfixed as they watch the terrible report on a television set. Theo enters and orders a coffee. As he looks up, Cuarón cuts to the monitor, then back as Theo gets his drink and leaves. The camera follows him in a handheld shot out the door, pausing to take everything in after it exits to the London street (a subtitle reveals the date: November 16, 2027).

Cuarón's camera turns towards Theo, walking with him and then stopping when he steps aside to add some booze to his coffee. Then there's an offscreen blast. The ringing of Theo's ears takes over the soundtrack as the camera turns back and moves towards the smoking cafe, out of which emerges a woman charred from the explosion, carrying her own arm. The sequence is shocking, even grotesque, but in its narrative efficiency and strict attention to point-of-view it prepares us for the unrelenting cinematic tour de force to follow.
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Missed this back when you posted it, but thanks for doing so. That was a great read.
 
J Davis said:
I like the long shots in Children of Men but nothing beats Soy Cuba 1964.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYFXv6bDIY8&feature=youtu.be&t=1m41s
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+1. I tear up at the end. Not sure why. Just beautiful cinema.

I like long takes. I really do. Even if long simply means more than the typical coverage cutting pace we see today. 45seconds is a friendly long for me. Over that should be very carefully planned out. I just hate the cut-cut-cut. And long takes don't have to be moving steadi cam. I'm all for the well blocked and composed lock-off.
 
I came up in the era where long-take Steadicam shots were the fad, and got to operate my fair share of them. Some were quite good, most were ponderous and begged for a cut. While it is relatively easy to design engaging sections (essentially, visual keyframes), it's very hard to make all of the connective tissue, the lines between the keyframes engaging. Once you have a lag, the shot draws attention to itself, the camera feels like it's just being carried to the next setup, and it's game over. It takes a concerted effort between all departments to keep a long shot worthwhile, and it takes a long time to get just right. In retrospect, even shots that seemed great at the time now might feel contrived, in that odd way that the passage of time can strip a film of its freshness. Why is that "I Am Cuba" or the Copacabana shot from "Goodfellas" still works, while so many other one'rs fall by the wayside?

I for one loved the visual style of "Children of Men" and found that it informed the story, provided visual eye candy and inspired me to rewatch scenes on video over and over again. I can understand why others don't take to it. Perhaps I'm especially attuned to the nuance of a successful long-take because of my background (my old Steadicam site had a specific section devoted to various oner's I'd done over the years).

Ultimately, it's a bold choice and you need to be a very confident filmmaker to be able to commit to the result of long takes on the overall pacing of the film. Even one that is widely heralded such as Children of Men has its detractors, as evidenced by this thread!
 
I love long single takes if they help to tell the story.

In Children of Men, a big part of the feeling the movie was trying to create (IMO) was the hopelessness of life. No point to it anymore in that world. The human race was doomed to extinction. Life had become one long march to death. The long takes really helped to convey that feeling for me.

I also loved the party scene (new years) in Boogie Nights. (Similar feeling of hopelessness of situation for Macy's character, as in Children of Men.)

Anyone ever see Russian Ark? That was one long 100 minute take.
 
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