From a comment posted in a previous post, by Mike Harris Stone:
Well I saw Children of Men last night. A fantastic piece of cinema which does, IMHO, go beyond even the filmmaker’s intentions in what it says, much as Wings of Desire did. Interestingly, the original music in the film is by British Composer John Taverner, an Orthodox Christian, so in that one aspect there is a Christian voice in the movie. I agree with your critique of it, Jeffrey.
And by the way, the backlash against the CT critics celebrating Children of Men . . . I keep wondering if some of those offended by the choice might be less offended if they actually Read. The. Review.
I’m hearing “How could they choose that?” Looking back at my original review, I think I spelled it out quite plainly why the film deserves praise (even though, in the end, my personal votes in that poll went for different films). And if that wasn’t enough, well, there’s defense #2, which I posted yesterday at this blog.
FWIW, John Tavener’s status as an Orthodox Christian — or as a Christian, period, for that matter — has been in question for a few years now. See, e.g.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:John_Tavener#Orthodox_church
http://web.archive.org/web/20041217072128/http://www.fairuk.org/dnd/2004/10/DND20041022Fri.htm#7
Peter,
I wasn’t aware of this. According to the Wikipedia article on the film and this article http://www.moviemusicuk.us/childrenofmencd.htm which the wikipedia article cites, Tavener is still a Christian. If he’s not a practicing Christian, there is still certainly a strong influence there. I’ve been a Tavener fan for a few years now. Especially “The Protecting Veil.” Thanks for the info.
No A&F link, Peter? Mike, it’s also discussed here:
http://artsandfaith.com/index.php?showtopic=10912&mode=linearplus