Never Let Me Go

Last night, Ben and I watched a movie called Never Let Me Go. The movie is based on a novel, placed in England in an alternate past between 1975 & 1995. The main characters are “clones” of sorts, scientificly made to be organ donors. These characters are modeled after “trash,” of druggies and prostitutes, and they are both curious and terrified of one day bumping into their “original.” When they will give their major organs to any real human being who needs them, they are considered "complete," their purpose having been finished and they die. 

This was a beautiful movie* with an amazing soundtrack and good cineamatogrophy.  I loved the character development as you see the friends grow up, and the apparent humanity as they think for themselves, question the ethics of why they were created, fall in love, and even become devastated in their own sin and mistakes.

Take a look at this short trailer 

to get an idea of what I mean…

To me, one of the more haunting moments is at the end.  Kiera Knightly’s character “completes” after her third donation, and we see her empty shell in the hospital.  Kathy and Tommy have realized they cannot have free wills and cannot be with each other.  Tommy also “completes” on his third donation while Kathy watches from the other side of the operating room.  The movie ends with no music, just the sound of the wind as Kathy looks at the horizon of a large wheat field.  After a few moments of reflecting about her friendships, she narrates...

“…What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different 

from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. 

Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, 

or feel we've had enough time.”

As the credits rolled, and I realized there was not going to be any redeeming moment of happiness or hope, my mind jumped to these Scriptures:

Psalm 78:39  "He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return."

Isaiah 40:6-8  “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. 
Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.

The movie says a lot about our humanity & finiteness, but the Bible has been saying it longer and louder.  May we live for the Glory of God, because our glory will fade as quickly as the flowers.

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*With all my opinions on the beauty and quality of the movie, there was quite a lot of “content” and I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone, just to clarify.  :)