Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men” is the best film of 2006. Based on the book by P.D. James, this sci-fi thriller set in a devastated London circa 2027 is a phenomenal human adventure unlike anything else this year. It is a profound and moving drama bristling with thrills, chills and shocking surprises. Without a doubt, the movie is a masterpiece, an instant classic impossible to forget long after the theater curtain has closed.

The youngest man on the planet has died at 18 years of age. Wile the world mourns, Theo (Clive Owen) shakes his head and uncaringly goes on about his day. He is resigned to the end of the world, his only care now to spend time with his reclusive friend Jasper (Michael Caine) smoking the man’s homegrown pot and try not to get noticed by an England on the edge of spiraling out of control.

But that’s before Julian (Julianne Moore) comes back into his life. She has her associates abduct him because she needs his help. His ex-wife, Theo isn’t exactly happy to see her, but he’ll still give Julian the help she needs all the same. Not because he wants to, but because the downtrodden government drone wants the 5,000 pounds she’ll pay him to do so.

In a world without children and where hope is a commodity no longer traded on the open market, things do not always work out as planned and Theo suddenly finds himself with a choice to make. He can either look the other way and continue going through the motions towards extinction, or he can take a stand putting his life on the line for an illegal immigrant named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) he’s just met. But Theo’s choice isn’t a choice at all. Kee is pregnant, and the world going to Hell in a hand basket the hope she carries inside her belly must be protected at all cost.

“Children of Men” is a triumph to be treasured. Cuarón has made many great movies; “A Little Princess,” “Y Tu Mamá También,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban;” but this is the one that truly marks his arrival as one of a tiny handful of truly great directors. This movie looks, feels, moves and carries itself like no other this past year, and from the acting, to the production design, to the music there is not a piece of this magnificent puzzle that feels misguided or out of place.

It is here a special mention must be made for Emmanuel Lubezki’s stunning cinematography. In a year of gloriously photographed motion pictures both big and small, what Lubezki does here simply boggles the mind. The camera becomes a character within the film, taking the audience this way and that and then all the way around again so beautifully, so absolutely perfectly I virtually forgot I was watching a movie and not actually a part of the events onscreen myself. What he does here is breathtaking, a violent montage sending Theo down the rabbit hole and into a chaotic battlefield one of the must stunning, striking and even horrifying sequences of film I’ve ever seen.

There is so much more to talk about and discuss where it comes to this picture that I almost don’t even know where to begin. The most striking thing of them all, however, might just be the fact that Cuarón’s masterwork isn’t really sci-fi at all; its jut masquerading as one. The reality is that this picture is today, right now, our very own reality. It is a terrifying glimpse at a world we are on the verge of making come true. With borders being closed and immigrants being treated as criminals even before they have the chance to say hello the film is a disturbing mirror to what we all know is going on but are too timid, too scared, to speak of.

Yet where it is easy to see despair Cuarón sees hope. There is an emotional high to Theo’s journey that is impossible to ignore or to resist, his journey to the Promised Land to deliver Kee as insightful and as moving as anything I’m ever likely to see. The director looks at the world and sees how an entire generation, if given the opportunity, might be able to take it upon themselves to rise up and make the hard decisions needed to make things better, Kee an unlikely beacon of salvation in a world so close to not even remembering what the word actually means.

“Children of Men” is a picture to cherish. It is a stunning powerhouse working on so many different levels it is impossible to grasp them all in just one sitting. It is a journey of discovery, of despair, of triumph and of reconciliation. Most of all it is a journey of hope, and in a present day world so close to losing it to be reminded of what it is to have some isn’t just wonderful, it perfect.

Just like the movie.

Film Rating: êêêê  (out of 4)