One thing that stood out to me about Children of Men was the role of the baby. It was treated as the savior both literally and figuratively. Everybody surrounding the child dedicated his or her life to protecting and nourishing the baby. Another thing that stood out was the timing and effect of the child’s crying. The baby would be perfectly tranquil even in times of turmoil and noise. However, when things seemed to be getting out of hand, and the audience started to lose hope, the baby would cry. After the crying stopped, a stroke of luck would occur, and hope was restored. For example, when they are in the building fighting off the military and they are being closed in on, the baby cries. Soon after, a cease-fire is called as the baby is carried through a crowd of frozen shoulders, and nothing but the baby’s cry can be heard. Just when it seems that the luck had run out, the baby cries and restores hope to the audience. Another example of this is when the baby is on the boat in the final scene. The main character then reveals that he has suffered a gun shot wound and is dying. At this point, the audience worries that the baby and her mother will be stranded on a rowboat in the ocean. Low and behold, the baby begins to cry and a fishing boat named, “Tomorrow” comes to the rescue to save the baby and her mother. These symbolic messages serve as supportive evidence toward the hypothesis of the baby being a savior figure in the story.
