This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. I quite like those Then and Now comparison photographs that you see in books or on the Twitter or Facebook. I always think I should give them a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart.
The Campus is a local community centre, that as well as a primary school, a specialist school, a library, a cafe, it also is used by local groups.
I took this photograph on September 22nd 2022.
It was taken with an iPhone 13.
I wasn’t too surprised to find that I had taken a similar photograph four years earlier on October 16th 2018.
“The problem is you’ve been told and not told. That’s what I’ve seen while I’ve been here. You’ve been told but none of you really understand. So I’ve decided I’ll talk to you in a way that you will understand.”
In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.
One of the reasons I wanted to watch Never Let Me Go was that it was filmed locally in and around North Somerset. I bought it on ITunes and was impressed with the movie.
Never Let Me Go is a 2010 science fiction drama film that is based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. The film stars Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley as three friends who are raised in a mysterious boarding school called Hailsham. s they grow into young adults, they find that they have to come to terms with the strength of the love they feel for each other, while preparing themselves for the haunting reality that awaits them. As they grow older, they come to realise the shocking truth about their lives and the world around them.
The film is also beautifully shot, with a visual style that perfectly captures the eerie, surreal atmosphere of the story. The film is set in an alternate 1980s England with flashbacks to the 1970s.
One cafe scene was shot at The Regent Restaurant and Coffee Lounge in Weston-super-Mare.
The Regent Restaurant and Coffee Lounge in Weston-super-Mare by James Clay
They didn’t need to even redress or change the signage for the movie, as the lounge had a 1970s vibe to it. Alas it has now closed which is a pity.Another scene was filmed on Clevedon Pier.
Clevedon Pier by James Clay
The film has a really strong cast. Mulligan, Garfield, and Knightley deliver powerful performances that are both moving and nuanced. They are ably supported by a talented supporting cast, including Charlotte Rampling and Sally Hawkins. The score, composed by Rachel Portman, is also haunting and evocative.
Never Let Me Go is a thought-provoking and emotionally powerful film, one which makes you think about the ethics of a society.
