20 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Children Of Men
11. Picasso's Guernica and Infertile Dystopias
Cuaron’s dystopian opus is not one to shy away from referencing other pieces of art to convey its themes. One of the most overt references is its feature of Guernica, Pablo Picasso’s somber depiction of the horrors experienced by the Basque community after the eponymous town was forced by General Francisco Franco's forces alongside fascist Italian and Nazi forces.
This painting created a greater sense of global awareness on the atrocities that the Basque community were forced to endure under the fascist rule in 1930s Spain and is considered one of Picasso's most striking pieces.
Its anti-war sentiments and depiction of crushing oppression (the bull’s imposing stature over the woman and the child) are apt in Children of Men, as some have imagined the painting symbolizing Kee’s struggle to survive in a fascist Britain.