“Movies deal in mythic landscapes,” says Sam Mendes. It’s a statement that seems incongruous at first. The director’s latest film, Empire of Light, is set in 1980s England, and, let’s face it, a grey, windy English seaside isn’t usually what comes to mind when thinking about the fantastical worlds that films can transport us to.
In Empire of Light, though, the seaside setting glows with spirit and history. Mendes and his collaborator, lauded cinematographer Roger Deakins, deftly illuminate the quiet beauty of England’s north Kent coast. The shifting light of Margate’s sky and its sandy beaches serve as the backdrop for Mendes’ profoundly human story. Throughout the film, we watch as this landscape, the grand old art deco cinema and the film’s characters all come to life.
