Never Let Me Go: A Rediscovery o

Memory

Freedom

Hailsham School Song

Oh, the great days

will bring distance enchanted

Days of fresh air

in the rain and the sun

When we are scattered

afar and asunder

Parted are those

who are singing today

How we rejoiced

as we struggled and panted

Echoes of dreamland,

When we look back

and forgetfully wonder

What we were like

in our learning and play

Acceptance

Love

Hailsham lives on

Reality

Let It Go (2013)

Let it go

Like birds finding their own sky to fly in...

"I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it's just too much. The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how I think it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever."

-Tommy

(Ishiguro 282)

"You poor creatures."

-Madame

(Ishiguro 272)

Departures

We All Complete (2010)

I lost Ruth, then I lost Tommy, but I won't lose my memories of them.

[...]

I half-closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up [...] a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field, and gradually get larger until I'd see it was Tommy

[...]

The fantasy never got beyond that - I didn't let it - and though the tears rolled down my face, I wasn't sobbing or out of control.

Art makes you

FEEL . . .

-Kathy

(Ishiguro 288)

'Never Let Me Go'

(irony)

Never Let Me Go (2010)

Jane Monheit

aka “Judy Bridgewater”

Darling, hold me

Hold me, hold me

And never, never, never let me go

Darling, kiss me

Kiss me, kiss me

And never, never, never let me go

Lock my heart

Throw away the key

Fill my love with ecstasy

Bind my heart with your

Warm embrace

And tell me no one

Could ever take my place

Darling, tell me

Tell me, tell me

And never, never, never

Never, never...

Significance

"Oh baby, baby, never let me go..."

Finding our own meaning in life...

(Ishiguro 71)

"Miss, why does Madame take our things anyway?"

Fear

Norfolk (a lost corner)

-Polly

(Ishiguro 40)

I pulled it out and held it in both hands. Then suddenly I felt a huge pleasure - and something else, something more complicated that threatened to make me burst into tears. But I got a hold of the emotion, and just gave Tommy's arm a tug."

(Ishiguro 172)

"Back then, when you lost it, I used to think about it, in my head, what it would be like, if I found it and brought it to you. What you'd say, your face, all of that."

-Tommy

(Ishiguro 173)

Souls At All (2010)

"Your art will reveal your inner selves! That's it, isn't it? Because your art will display your souls!"

- Madame

(Ishiguro 254)

"We took away your art because thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all."

- Miss Emily

(Ishiguro 260)

Hope

What is 'art'?

Art

"Don't forget, Kath, What she's got reveals our souls."

-Tommy

(Ishiguro 176)

reveals

Interpreting our past to understand our present to better prepare for the future...

SOUL

your

Disappointment

British composer Rachel Portman said that because of the film's sad themes, she wanted to "put some hope" and humanity in the music, adding that it was important to her that there be "real emotional heartbeat in the midst of this story."

"If you use a solo instrument, it's like having a voice," she says,"it highlights the emotion."

What is Love (1993)

What is 'love'?

(foreshadowing)

*

Storge

family

close friends

Eros

Hailsham School Song (2010)

lust

Agape

unconditional sacrificial

*

Phileo/Philia

platonic

"What they said was that if you were a boy and a girl, and you were in love with each other, really, properly in love, and if you could show it, then the people who run Hailsham, they sorted it out for you. They sorted it out so you could have a few years together before you began your donations."

-Chrissie

(Ishiguro 153)

Oh, the great days

will bring distance enchanted

Days of fresh air

in the rain and the sun

How we rejoiced

as we struggled and panted

Echoes of dreamland,

Hailsham lives on

When we are scattered

afar and asunder

Parted are those

who are singing today

When we look back

and forgetfully wonder

What we were like

in our learning and play

Never Let Me Go:

Exploring Sentimental Art

Goodbye

Priscilla Lo