20 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Children Of Men
1. The Peace That Passes Understanding
Two characters in the film recite the Shanti mantra at different points and in different contexts. Miriam's utterance of the mantra occurs after Julian's violent death and Jasper's after he learns of Kee's seemingly miraculous pregnancy.
In addition to being calls for peace following life-changing revelations/occurrences, the film's use of the mantra is similar to the one found in T.S Elliot's The Wasteland, a poem whose main plot is also focused on global infertility.
Both works may have been set in vastly different times (The Wasteland is a commentary on the hopelessness Europe faced after World War I) but despite these differences, some of their elements are both similar and unnervingly prescient in today's uncertain world.
Its inclusion at the end of the film's credits could be seen as the world discovering a newfound sense of peace despite the uncertainties that lay ahead.