reviewed by: Charity Bishop

              

After years of pre-production and settlement, the first highly anticipated and most controversial children's book of our time comes to the silver screen. Harry Potter has become a household name. To many Christians it produces a curl of the lip or a raised brow. An equal number have found a lot to celebrate about this little wizard, despite his magic dealings. Who is right? Who knows. But I do know one thing... the film captures the very essence of the book beautifully. If you love the books, you will love the film.

On a dark night on Privet Drive a grizzled old man approaches and proceeds to empty the streetlamps of their light, casting all into shadows. Met by a gray tabby cat, who transforms into the stern figure of Professor McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore proceeds to deliver a little bundle of joy to the doorstep of the Dursley family. Harry Potter is the only living survivor of a terrible night in which the evil Lord Voldemort has been destroyed. The child is destined for great things, but left be raised by his "Muggle" (non-magic) aunt and uncle. Eleven years later, Harry is an abused preteen forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs while his cousin Dudley is grossly spoiled. When Harry somehow manages to make the glass over a snake cage in the zoo vanish, he is punished by his uncle for shenanigans, although he cannot explain how it happened. Then comes the letter, from a school named Hogwarts. Horrified, his aunt and uncle tear it up. But more letters come. Through the post-box, windows, even down the chimney. Harry is not allowed to read any of them. The neighborhood is being invaded with owls. In an attempt to escape this strange assault, Mr. Dursley takes his family to an island in the middle of nowhere to escape the letters.

On Harry's eleventh birthday, shortly after midnight, a giant named Hagrid literally breaks down the door and informs Harry that he has been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry's parents were wizards... and Harry is the most famous wizard of all. From there Harry is swept into the mysterious world of Hogwarts, with its moving staircases, talking paintings, three-headed dogs, and booby-trapped corridors. Every man, woman, and child in the wizarding world knows his name, because somehow, Harry was able to block the horrible curse that took his parents' life, and destroy Voldemort's physical form. But all is not well at Hogwarts. Even with his friends Hermione, a Muggle-born witch with extraordinary talents toward spell work, and Ron, a redheaded, fun-loving spider-phobic, Harry has learned the world of magic can be dark indeed...

The author of the books, JK Rowling, has created a world you will never forget. From the sinister Professor Snape to the giant boarhound in Hagrid's Hut, erroneously named "Fang" (because "he's a bloody coward"), and even the antics of Harry's arch-enemy Malfoy, Hogwarts and its students create a fantastic tale of bravery, courage, and the battle of good against evil. The books and therefore the movies based on them are filled with imagination, mythology, and complex characters. There are constant parallels between good and evil, between friendship and rivalry, between obedience and disobedience. Many Christians have a problem with the stories because they revolve around the subject of witchcraft. I understand fully this concern and have my own reservations about certain aspects of the plot, but if you look on the story on the whole, you will see it's a fairy tale not meant to be taken literally. If we accept Merlin in King Arthur's Court we should also accept Harry; for the two are synonymous. Visually the film is delightful, well cast, and has excellent special effects. Best of all the story is reasonably true to the book, which many of the devout fans (including myself) appreciate.

Seeing as the books were written for younger readers there is little in the way of offensive content. Some mild profanity makes up part of the script, but is usually played for humor. I feel for its overall dark tones the film would have been more appropriate with a PG13 rating. The thematic elements alone make it unsuitable for very young children. At one point, characters are wandering the wood at night only to come across a darkly cloaked figure drinking the blood of a slain unicorn. At the climax, the villain reveals he has two faces; one on either side of his head. Harry manages to defeat him but the ghostly vapor of Voldemort passes through our young hero, making him fall unconscious to the floor. There is also a three-headed dog to contend with and the ghosts that haunt Hogwarts: all are friendly and play minor roles, but one is capable of pulling his head almost completely off of his body. There are also numerous spoken spells throughout the film (most are clever Latin word plays), of the feather-floating variety of magic.

Rowling's wit and humor bleeds through in the excellent portrayals of the cast, and there are several thought-provoking twists to the plot. One could argue there is good in Harry's world. The lies spun by Voldemort at the end are the lies Satan often throws at us: "there is no good or evil; I can give you everything you want if you come to my side; together, we can be great..." but in the process, lose our soul. Harry learns he is protected from evil by the sacrifice of his mother, whose death left him with the mark of everlasting love. The unicorn scene, while disturbing, reminded me strongly of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. In slaying a unicorn, the purest creature on earth, Voldemort has eternally cursed himself to a half life. Satan did that the day he raised a crowd to crucify the savior. If you are not a Potter fan and have doubts about the books in general, I would encourage you not to rent this film. Whatever you go in looking for, you will find. If you are a fan of Rowling, I would encourage you to go in with an open mind and ask God to point you to the subliminal truths in the story For older viewers this can be a wonderful, thought-provoking and entertaining journey through the magical world of Harry Potter.