Children of Men: Kee as a Nativity Figure

Human infertility, segregation, and terror plague the screen of this morbid apocalyptic film. Based on the novel by P.D. James, Director Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, A Little Princess), offers the viewer very little insight as to what the movie will hold, according to what we can gather from the other movies he has directed. However, Cuaron gives the viewer a pretty good idea of what the entire movie will hold in store after the first scene erupts into chaos. The death of the youngest person on the planet, "Baby Diego," flashes across every television set in the background and is heard on every broadcast station. The first scene, which introduces Theo (Clive Owen) into the film, has him in a small shop surrounded by people watching the horrific murder of Baby Diego. The shop gets bombed merely seconds after Theo exits, in which a slight ringing in his ears begins. This sound plays an important role in the film, because it puts the viewer in Theo's shoes; feeling the shock of the explosion in a physical and mental manner. The sound becomes an annoying, yet persistent, noise in the background. Cuaron uses thematic elements such as this immaculately, which incorporates the viewer into the movie.

Throughout the next few scenes, Theo is kidnapped by his ex-wife Julianne (Julianne Moore) and asked to deliver special immigration papers that would ensure the safety of a woman into London who is carrying an extraordinary package. Although the viewer already knows what this woman holds in her clutches, Cuaron does a wonderful job using dramatic irony to keep the truth of her circumstances from the people in the film. This gets the viewer more involved in the film. When the viewer is introduced to her, Kee (Claire-Hope Ashity) is rather rough around the edges and not as mature as one would think a pregnant woman should be. She is rude an uncouth to Theo, especially given that he is risking his own safety for hers without knowing her secret. As the nativity figure of the film, Kee is far below the expectations of a Madonna that the viewer has produced.

When comparing Kee to the Virgin Mary, she falls so far short of Mary's qualities and accomplishments that one wonders of Kee truly can be described as a nativity figure. However, Kee proves everyone wrong when she innocently reveals the truth of her need for safe passage to Theo. She looks so young and fragile standing amongst cattle and bathed in a soft glow of light that the viewer can't help but imagine if that is what Mary herself looked when she and Joseph arrived in the barn before the birth of Jesus. With the importance of Kee's pregnancy hanging in the air between them, Theo realizes that her baby will not only be the savior of England, but of the world from total chaos. Kee seems to be placed in a position similar to that of Mary when the significance of just who's babe she held in her womb came to light. Although, it's not a matter of whose baby it is for Kee; rather, it's the fact that it is the first successful pregnancy in eighteen years. This baby could end the segregation that plagues England and, undoubtedly, the world.

After Kee's revelation, Theo finds out that the people who were sworn to protect her ("Fishes") are planning on using the baby for their own purposes. Theo manages to escape with Kee and an interesting woman named Miriam (Pam Ferris), who seems to be Kee's protector and maternity expert. This new thought of Kee as a present day Madonna does not leave the mind of the viewer for the rest of the film. It is extremely important to keep this idea of Kee as a nativity figure in mind because of how prominent her pregnancy is for the plot of the movie. Her child can put a stop to the thousands of people being ruthlessly murdered, tortured, and immigrated out of England for being anything less than a citizen. If Kee was simply looked upon as just any pregnant woman trying to find safety for herself, then the film loses its significance as being something other than a movie filled with death. Instead, it is a movie filled with the promise of life; a life that can save the world from completely destroying itself. Keeping Kee looked at as a Madonna figure allows the viewer to want Theo and Kee to succeed in locating the Human Project (a secret society dedicated to saving the world from oppression).

With this new perception on Kee and her baby, the viewer is left to question, what exactly does Kee and the Virgin Mary have in common? From what history tells us, Mary was an innocent when she conceived Jesus, leaving one large difference between Mary and Kee. When Theo asked Kee who the father of her child is she jokingly stated that she is a virgin, in which Theo looked so utterly shocked that his reaction served as a slight comical relief. After giving Theo a moment to dwell on the thought, Kee unashamedly told Theo that she had no idea who the father is or could be. With this simple, yet extremely significant difference between Kee and Mary, can we really be allowed to view Kee's child as the present day savior? Simply because the circumstances are different for Kee than they were for Mary does not make her child any less of a savior of mankind. Mary's baby was conceived at a time when God knew the world needed to be shown the extent of his love and power for mankind. Kee's baby would ultimately provide the same outcome as Jesus' birth did, and would undoubtedly be looked at as another Jesus Christ.

As Kee and Theo try to make their way to the Human Project, they meet up with a long-time friend of Theo's named Jasper (Michael Caine), who gives them food and shelter. When danger arrives, Jasper sends them to a man named Syd (Peter Mullan) who gets them inside the city walls of the immigration camps where a woman named Marichka (Oana Pellea) will be able to lead them to the Human Project. In the midst of the poverty-ridden city of London, Kee and Theo are almost separated, giving the viewer quite a scare. When they find Marichka, Kee and Theo are taken to a room where Kee promptly begins to give birth to her baby. This scene becomes almost comical as Theo scurries around the room, trying to prepare himself for the delivery of virtually the most important being on the planet. When the child arrives, angelic music begins playing, only fueling the viewer's idea of Kee being a present day Madonna. As Kee situates herself with her babe, the scene fades to black, leaving the viewer with wistful hopes that the babe survived its first night in the worst possible conditions for a newborn.

The next scene that unfolds in a beautiful bath of sunlight gives the viewer hope for Kee and her little savior. The light plays softly over the child and Kee, making them both look like pure innocents. The idea of Kee playing the role of a present day nativity figure is now set in stone. The emblematic scenes that unravel this truth to the viewer are what give this film its hope. Her child is the only person who can make people see what they are doing to each other without lifting a hand to fight or a gun to shoot. The entire world has turned its back on sensibility and compassion for others, which is what lead them down the road of infertility in the first place. Whether it was an environmental or religious explanation, mankind was put to the test and failed miserably. The hope of Kee's baby is what gives this movie so much light in a world enclosed in darkness. Without Kee and her child, the film would be morbid and depressing, which is what anyone would expect from an apocalyptic film; yet, when given this ray of hope, people cannot help being optimistic, even in an apocalypse

The most prominent emblematic scene in this film is when Kee and Theo are exiting a building that is being fired upon by the British army. As they try to leave the baby cries out, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hall. Soft angelic music plays in the background as people realize that Kee holds a child in her arms. People swarm to her, astounded at the little bundle squirming in Kee's arms. They would fall to their knees, pray, lightly touch the baby, and (in the case of two soldiers) make the sign of the cross across their chests. This scene screamed Mary and Jesus. Not only were the people utterly shocked in the presence of the baby, but there was an obvious religious connection with the child. It is going to be savior of the world.

The infamous Uprising talked about throughout the movie happens right as Theo and Kee are leaving to find the Human Project. People are shouting "Allah Humana!" (Go with God) and firing their guns into the air as a sign of freedom from England's hold. Considering the rise of the oppressed happened the day after the birth of Kee's baby, the viewer gets the idea that things are going to turn around. When Jesus Christ entered the world, oppression of the people who followed a different religion started to dwindle. Kee's baby would be the final constituent in ending the injustice done to the world. However, Kee and Theo are discovered by the Fishes who wanted to use Kee's baby as a means for their own purposes. Things go from bad to worse as Kee and her baby are once again threatened with their lives. The final scene is bleak and disturbing as, when Theo and Kee finally find a boat, the city (and Uprising) gets bombed. All hope starts to fade as they slowly row away from the island in nasty brown water and dense fog. But the end holds a wonderful surprise and a light for humanity. As the scene comes to a close, you hear children laughing in the background. Can we assume that the earth was once again populated with children and their cheerful voices? Or is Cuaron simply toying with our minds after leaving us with a puzzling end?