Faith in Film 2, Children of Men

It's hard to believe that our 12-week exploration of Faith in Film has drawn to a close. It's been a fast 12 weeks and a great 12 weeks for me. I've appreciated all the comments, and I hope that everyone has enjoyed exploring these nine films in a new way. One of the ways we grow as believers is to explore the dynamics of our faith, and consider how what we believe compares to the messages we get from the world. I hope this exploration has allowed you to reflect on that in a new way.

Our final film for discussion is another interesting film, "Children of Men." It's the second dystopian tale we've looked at following last week's exploration of "The Book of Eli." And as with most tales surrounding the possible end of the world, there are plenty of religious themes.

I enjoyed our discussion on "The Book of Eli" last week because many of you took away a different message from the film than I did. It seems that "The Book of Eli" is one of those films that, depending on your outlook, you can take away a different meaning from its events. Many of you cited a feeling of hopefulness that Eli had completed his mission and that the Bible, and the faith, would be carried on because of his efforts.

I think "Children of Men" is similar in that you can take away a couple different perspectives of the end based on what you feel the message and tone of the film was. This is intentional. Director Alphonso Cuaron said, "We wanted the end to be a glimpse of a possibility of hope, for the audience to invest their own sense of hope into that ending. So, if you're a hopeful person, you'll see a lot of hope, and if you're a bleak person, you'll see a complete hopelessness at the end."

As I said last week, I did not care for "Book of Eli" as a whole. I felt that elements of the story were inconsistent with some of the messages about faith, and the importance of the Scriptures, that were introduced. It was a film that offered some points that resonate with our faith, but some points that seemed to conflict. I felt it was a movie that offered a split message.

"Children of Men," on the other hand, was a film I found inspirational. It is essentially a much more personal story of a man who is broken and without hope that is transformed through the events of the film. He is someone who believes in nothing and no one, who eventually becomes so dedicated to the mission he's called to fulfill that he'll sacrifice anything, including his own life, to preserve hope for the people. That, I think, is a perfect allegory for finding faith.

In the Bible the notion of hope is inextricably tied to faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what is hoped for, certain of what is unseen." 1 Corinthians 13:13 says three things remain — faith, hope and love. And though the traditional notion of that is a more romantic love, the King James Version translates it as faith, hope, and charity. If you consider the notion of charity, you get the impression that the reference is to a love of others. Putting others first, which is a notion at the heart of the Gospel.

"Children of Men" is based on a novel by P.D. James, who sought to use the book as a Biblical allegory. In fact, the title is drawn from a reference in the King James translation of Psalm 90. Cuaron, who I gather is not a believer, sought to strip Christian dogma from the story in translating it to film, thereby stripping some of the religious elements from it. Still, the story that remains serves as a powerful allegory.

Some Christians saw the central characters — Theo (Clive Owen) and Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) — are like a modern Joseph and Mary. Seeing as how the film depicts a world in which there are no children, the birth of Kee's child brings hope to a dark and hopeless world. In fact, the depiction of the world in this film is similar to the description of Israel near the end of the Old Testament. Consider, Micah 7:2 says, "The godly have been swept from the land; not one upright man remains. All men lie in wait to shed blood; each hunts his brother with a net." But just five verses later, in 7:7 it says, "But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord; I wait for God my Savior, my God will hear me." The baby born in the film serves as the symbol of hope that (literally) stops soldiers from shooting at rebels.

I don't know if I totally buy into the allegory to Jesus. I think many of the elements for that are missing, though that could also be a product of the stripped down way Cuaron presented the film. However, I remain moved by the change you see in Theo. His self-sacrificing devotion to preserving the hope wrapped up in that child is an inspirational example of the faith and love (charity) that can be stirred when we have hope.

John 15:12-13 says, "My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." That was Jesus speaking to his disciples and by extension us. I think that command is personified in this film, which was what resonated with me the day I saw it and still resonates with me today.

"Children of Men" is not a perfect film; it offers a somewhat flawed view of a number of things, but that powerful example of faith, hope, and love remains compelling.