boorman said "i wanted to make a film about the problems of us hurtling at such a rate into the future that our emotions are lagging behind." the original draft was set five years in the future and was about a university lecturer who became obsessed with a young girl who disappeared. he searched for her among communes where the girl lived. boorman visited some communes for research. he then decided to set the story even further in the future, when society had collapsed and a new society had emerged.