It's 2027 and no babies have been born since 2009. The first day of the film--which takes place entirely in the span of three or four days--is the day that the youngest human on Earth (still called Baby Diego, though he's 18) is killed. And the film rolls from there.

I've got to tell you this: this film is excellent. It's the best movie made last year. I liked "The Departed" and all. And I liked "Babel" more than just about anyone else I know did. But this movie. This is the first movie I've watched in a long time where I had to stop, take a deep breath and remind myself that it wasn't real. An hour after I finished it, I was still coming down and working on breathing normally. The film is utterly amazing. Utterly fluid and utterly captivating. Utterly beautiful.

Matt refused to watch the movie unless I could assure him it was not utterly depressing. Which I couldn't, because the world of the film has gone to shit. But not because of anything but the infertility. Terrorism plays a part in the film, of course, and government mismanagement (and, as it's set in England, overmanagament) plays a part.

But global warming's not to blame, so that's something. One of the things that makes the film interesting is that it's not about the infertility, so much. It's not about fixing it or finding out what caused it--it's never explained. It's an unexplored mystery, which is perfect.

One of the most interesting things about the film is how it portrays people--particularly the activist "Fishes," but the British Gov't troops as well--that they can't get past their own shit to see what is going on. The sequence, which if you've seen the film I hope you know which sequence I'm talking about, is interesting and dense and deserves to be pulled apart at greater length.

Also, Theo (Clive Owen) and Kee (his charge) weaving with their guide through the Islamic Martyr's parade in the middle of the refugee city was one of the most visually arresting images in the film, in a film full of arresting imagery.

I wholeheartedly recommend the movie.