Sunday, May 15, 2011

Never Let Me Go

Ole luonani aina / Never Let Me Go. GB/US © 2010 TCF Hungary etc. PC: DNA Films / Film4. EX: Alex Garland, Kazuo Ishiguro. P: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich. D: Mark Romanek. SC: Alex Garland - based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005, Finnish translation by Helene Bützow in Keltainen kirjasto / Tammi 2005). DP: Adam Kimmel. PD: Mark Digby. Cost: Rachael Fleming, Steven Noble. M: Rachel Portman. S: Glenn Freemantle. ED: Barney Pilling. LOC: Fife (Scotland), Bexhill-on-Sea (East Sussex), Clevedon, Weston (Somerset), Docking, Holkham Beach and Estate (Norfolk), Richmond (Surrey). CAST: Carey Mulligan (Kathy), Andrew Garfield (Tommy), Keira Knightley (Ruth), Charlotte Rampling (Miss Emily), Sally Hawkins (Miss Lucy). 106 min. Released in Finland by FS Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Suvi Jyrkilä / Carina Laurila. 35 mm print viewed at Maxim 1, Helsinki, 15 May 2011

Technical specifications (IMDb): Camera: Arricam LT, Zeiss and Angenieux Lenses; Arricam ST, Zeiss and Angenieux Lenses; Arriflex 235, Zeiss and Angenieux Lenses. Film negative format: 35 mm (Kodak Vision2 100T 5212, Vision2 200T 5217, Vision3 500T 5219, Vision2 Expression 500T 5229, Vision2 500T 5260). Cinematographic process: Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format), Super 35 (3-perf) (source format). Printed film format: 35 mm (anamorphic). Aspect ratio: 2.35:1.

Mark Romanek has been a top music video director since the 1980s, and he is one of the real artists on the scene. The Work of Director Mark Romanek (2005) is a dvd showcase of his short format work (I'm a happy owner although I have no dvd collection to speak of). I have now seen two of his feature films, One Hour Photo (2002) and Never Let Me Go. Static (1985) I haven't had the chance to see. Never Let Me Go is based on Kazuo Ishiguro's acclaimed psychological science fiction novel which I haven't read. It is a melancholy growing-up story of three young people who realize that they exist as a medical experiment. They are laboratory products destined to become organ donors for mortally ill patients. But this is just a backstory to a psychological tale of the three young people's relationships. It is evident from the start that this is an artistically ambitious picture, and my sympathies are with the talented artists who made the film. Unfortunately I found it impossible to connect with the resignation of the young protagonists.

Shot on 35 mm film, the movie has gone through the 2K digital mangle. The colour palette is melancholy brownish.

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