comparisons to Blade Runner (1982) are inevitable
Children of Men (2006)
The tone was bleakly hilarious, with a grim optimism. I thought it was exciting, funny, and entertaining.
Two noteworthy things in this movie:
First, the sets and locations were the strongest parts of the film. They, along with the details, really established the texture of Cuarón's post-apocalyptic, fascist England.
Second, long takes increase tension and anxiety in the viewer, and he used them judiciously. I saw at least one cut in the car, but I'm sure there were more.
Otherwise, I was disappointed in the characterizations. Kee didn't get to be much more than a macguffin; her line that I remembered best was in response to Theo asking about the identity of the father. It wasn't the content of what she said ("I'm a virgin,") but rather that her character had a sense of humor. The Fishes were similarly flat.
Ultimately, this movie emphasizes ideas rather than individuals; in that sense, Cuarón succeeded in realizing an uncomfortably plausible vision of dystopia, within the structure of a road movie. The relentless feeling of impending, random, senseless death or torture was quite an achievement.
Some films only indirectly comment on the prevailing political climate. It's beyond the scope of these notes to conjecture implications; it's inevitable that global events inform the stories writers tell. But seeing modern military equipment on the streets of an English speaking G7 nation is chilling. Seeing people locked in cages at railway stations, or bound, hooded, and stripped in public juxtaposes Things That Happen Elsewhere with Home. I found the set for the refugee camp particularly discomforting; it mapped closely with my own memories of Shatila, except that the Palestinians I met did not show me their guns.
Highly recommended.