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'Seeing the film as a film'

14 February 2011

'When I see films made from books, I make a huge effort not to remember the book. It's important to see the film as a film. Of course, it's easier with an old book. If it's Wuthering Heights or something, it's like going to the theatre and seeing another version; it might as well be Chekhov. This book (Never Let Me Go) came out in 2006, so it's harder to do that. But it's a movie. Every discussion shouldn't be dominated by comparison with the novel...

There's something peculiar about writing fiction. It requires an interesting balance between seeing the world as a child and having the wisdom of a middle-aged person. The further you get from childhood and the experience of the teenage years, the greater the danger of losing that wellspring.'

Kazuo Ishiguro, the film of whose book Never Let Me Go has just been released, in the Evening Standard