I saw Prince Caspian last weekend as a cap to my birthday evening celebration extravaganza. It was fun, but not that big of a deal because 1) I only turned 22, and 2) it wasn't even on my birthday, and 3) it was just with my family. Not that I don't love my family and everything (I do), but because my birthday falls in those couple weeks between when school ends and summer jobs (only 11 days until camp starts!) start, it's been a long time since I got to celebrate my birthday with friends. Oh well, one of these days.Oh yeah, minor spoiler alert. Read at your own risk. Unless, of course, you've already seen the movie.
Anyway.... The movie was great. I thought it was a lot better than the first one. Some say that it lacked that 'charm of originality' that all first movies of good series have (Star Wars: A New Hope, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Matrix, you get the picture), but I disagree. The world is different enough to keep that feeling of exploration fresh. Even though the characters are the same, the world is much older: Aslan's How is a major landmark, there is major industrialization due to the presence of the Telmarines, and everything isn't covered in snow. In addition, there are plenty of new characters to keep things fresh (Reepicheep was awesome).
I especially appreciated the way that the writers included spiritual allegories (keeping true to Lewis) but didn't beat the viewer over the head with them. When Lucy first sees Aslan, no one else can. Peter asks why he didn't see the lion, and Lucy's wise reply is, "Maybe you weren't looking for him." And through the rest of the movie, this theme is played out. Peter and Caspian both try to rely on their own strength to overcome Miraz and the other men, and thus, they aren't looking for Aslan or his help. They want the glory for themselves. It is only in their desperation, trapped in the How, that they send Lucy for him.
Once they finally get their act together and look to Aslan (who equals Jesus, by the way) to help, all goes well. When we let Christ fight our battles for us, the victory is sure. Yes the battle is hard, but we have confidence and hope that the victory will be ours. I love the scene in The Return of the King, when Gandalf is looking over the Fields of Pellenor, seeing the terror of Mordor, and he begins to laugh. Yes he is worried about the battle to come, yes he longs for peace, but he also knows the outcome. And that gives him joy. Knowing that Christ has already conquered sin should give us the utmost joy if we trust in Him.The trees on the battlefield and the Poseidon-like water god at the end were a little 'deus ex machina' for me as far as movies go, but the spiritual parallel makes it more than worth it. Oh, and the Regina Spektor song that rolled during the credits was sweet.
3 comments:
Hi Andrew,
I really appreciated your review on the movie. I may rent it when it comes out on DVD, based on your comments. I didn't like the first one much at all, because of the portrayal of polar bears in an evil way. It made me furious that a species struggling for survival and in need of all the good PR it can get was darkly portrayed. But I loved Aslan.
I have seen the term deus ex machina in other places and read the Wiki stuff on it but I'm still confused as to what it is about! The title of your post is all the more intriguing played against that.
Good luck with the end of school and Happy Birthday, too!
Lydia-
deus ex machina means 'god of the machine.' I could be wrong, but I'm quite certain it began in reference to lowering down a god or angel in early theater. Over time, it became more of a literary... something. It's the 'authorial ace-in-the-hole' that ties up all the loose ends of a plot and rescues the characters from calamity. And it's usually frowned upon. It's much better for the story if you let the characters grow and fix their own situation, or, if you've got a point to make, you can leave things dark. But when you bring in the supernatural to just wipe all the problems away, it's a little cheesy.
But that's the cool thing about Narnia. Lewis KNOWS that this literary practice is weak, but the strength of the message is that much more reinforced because of his willingness to sacrifice authorial integrity for the deeper, more profound, spiritual meaning.
Andrew
PS. I don't think the directors or Lewis had anything against polar bears specifically. I think they just got thrown in with the queen and her whole 'winter entourage.'
Once again, Andrew, thank you for helping me understand a thing that had puzzled me. I do so like the way you express yourself. Better than the online sites I looked at.
I can go along with your p.s. about the polar bears. I just hope that kids who see this don't have a negative reaction to the real thing after seeing them with the queen. Polar bears are so amazing!
Post a Comment