Friday, December 09, 2005
That’s Narnia Business
He's not a tame lion, but this movie isn't so sure
All my begging and pleading for advance tickets went for naught as I settled for the 11:59 pm showing of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” at the Regal Gateway 16 in Austin.
I went in really wanting to love the movie. I recently read or re-read all 7 books from C.S. Lewis’s beloved “Chronicles of Narnia” series. I was also highly expectant of the messianic imagery and Christological themes present in the book that I was hoping would come through in the movie.
The tale of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve (as Jeff Giles of Newsweek quips, “Soon Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy tumble through the wardrobe into Narnia, where it has long been prophesied that two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam—let's pause to smile over the fact that the director's name is Adamson”) has percolated my interest ever since I saw the trailer in theaters last May, with the wide-eyed Lucy happening upon a dusty old wardrobe thus imparting a true sense of wondrous expectation.
So, I bundled up and braved the unseasonably cold Austin evening (the low temperature Thursday was a record 23 degrees on December 8….has Queen Jadis arrived in Central Texas?), and trundled up to the theater for the midnight opener.
I found that the film stayed very close to the narrative of the book in terms of plot development and characters. The key themes of temptation, fall, betrayal, sacrifice, resurrection, redemption, and sanctification are clearly represented, as they were in the book. The opening exchange between Jadis and Edmund is such a good illustration of devilish temptation that pastors should use this sequence in their sermons on the topic.
The Pevensie children are played with aplomb by William Mosely, the protective Peter, Anna Poppelwell, the logical Susan, Skandar Keynes, the peevish Edmund, and Georgie Henley, the wide-eyed Lucy. Young Miss Henley simply shines in this role as she represents all who share her wonderment, awe, and childlike (not childish) faith. Aslan’s frosty foil, the White Witch, is played with freeze dried nastiness by the freonically charged Tilda Swinton. I noticed the temperature drop in the theater when she was on screen.
I was also glad for the ways the producers filled in the gaps in the story. The opening sequence of the blitz is exactly how I thought they should start, simultaneously initiating the premise of story while grabbing the viewers’ attention.
The battle scene, which takes all of two paragraphs in the book is fleshed out with frenetic action and harrowing (but not gory) detail. Maugrim the wolf and head of the Witch’s secret police gets significantly more airtime in the movie. Voiced bySim Evan-Jones Michael Madsen, he sounds just like you’d expect a malevolent wolf in charge of internal security to sound: greasy and demeaning as he toys with his prey, a carnivorous used car salesman.
However, the production suffers from some small flaws and large. First, the Witch has a crown of gold in the book, not inverted icicles. Furthermore, Peter rides a unicorn into battle. But anyone who has read chapter 9 of The Last Battle , the last Narnia book, knows that no one would dream of riding on a unicorn. And the producers let a little political correctness sneak in when Father Christmas gives weapons to the children but tells the girls, “I hope you don't have to use them because battles are ugly and fierce” instead of the original "I do not intend you to use them, for battles are ugly when women fight".
The bigger challenges to the movie are the nearly impossible expectations and the nature of Aslan himself. Coming after the Harry Potter and especially Lord of the Rings movies, the bar is pretty high when it comes to epic scenes, drama, and production values. This film mainly lives up to them and sometimes borrows from them. For example, when Jadis hisses to her minions “We’ve got work to do”, you can’t help but be reminded of Saruman, another white-clad, nihilistic villain, from Lord of the Rings uttering the same line. Yet the animation and cinematography, which are very good, merely look routine by comparison.
Aslan seems a little tamer than one described as "not a tame lion" should be. Sure, killing Jadis is pretty buff, but the sense that Aslan is both not safe and good is blurry. In fact, that very line by Mrs. Beaver, “ ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good,” is left out of the beavers’ house scene. This is one of the best lines in the whole book because it so clearly and concisely encapsulates who Aslan is. Furthermore, what should be roars range from deep growls to rather mellow bellows. Yet, in the book, “….when he opened his mouth to roar his face became so terrible that they did not dare look at it. And they saw all the trees in front of them bend before the blast of his roaring as grass bends in the meadow before the wind.” This is more than a stylistic preference. To fully appreciate Aslan’s warmth, wise counsel, suffering, and sacrifice, you also have to fully grasp the terrifying power he restrains to let those other characteristics come through when he wills them.
Alas, we do learn at the end that “He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.” I just wish that point had been driven home more clearly during the proceeding 2 hours.
These minor foibles aside, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is a splendid movie and I recommend you see it, both for it’s sense of wonder and adventure, as well as the clear presentation of the book’s messianic imagery and Christological themes.
Technorati tag: narnia
All my begging and pleading for advance tickets went for naught as I settled for the 11:59 pm showing of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” at the Regal Gateway 16 in Austin.
I went in really wanting to love the movie. I recently read or re-read all 7 books from C.S. Lewis’s beloved “Chronicles of Narnia” series. I was also highly expectant of the messianic imagery and Christological themes present in the book that I was hoping would come through in the movie.
The tale of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve (as Jeff Giles of Newsweek quips, “Soon Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy tumble through the wardrobe into Narnia, where it has long been prophesied that two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam—let's pause to smile over the fact that the director's name is Adamson”) has percolated my interest ever since I saw the trailer in theaters last May, with the wide-eyed Lucy happening upon a dusty old wardrobe thus imparting a true sense of wondrous expectation.
So, I bundled up and braved the unseasonably cold Austin evening (the low temperature Thursday was a record 23 degrees on December 8….has Queen Jadis arrived in Central Texas?), and trundled up to the theater for the midnight opener.
I found that the film stayed very close to the narrative of the book in terms of plot development and characters. The key themes of temptation, fall, betrayal, sacrifice, resurrection, redemption, and sanctification are clearly represented, as they were in the book. The opening exchange between Jadis and Edmund is such a good illustration of devilish temptation that pastors should use this sequence in their sermons on the topic.
The Pevensie children are played with aplomb by William Mosely, the protective Peter, Anna Poppelwell, the logical Susan, Skandar Keynes, the peevish Edmund, and Georgie Henley, the wide-eyed Lucy. Young Miss Henley simply shines in this role as she represents all who share her wonderment, awe, and childlike (not childish) faith. Aslan’s frosty foil, the White Witch, is played with freeze dried nastiness by the freonically charged Tilda Swinton. I noticed the temperature drop in the theater when she was on screen.
I was also glad for the ways the producers filled in the gaps in the story. The opening sequence of the blitz is exactly how I thought they should start, simultaneously initiating the premise of story while grabbing the viewers’ attention.
The battle scene, which takes all of two paragraphs in the book is fleshed out with frenetic action and harrowing (but not gory) detail. Maugrim the wolf and head of the Witch’s secret police gets significantly more airtime in the movie. Voiced by
However, the production suffers from some small flaws and large. First, the Witch has a crown of gold in the book, not inverted icicles. Furthermore, Peter rides a unicorn into battle. But anyone who has read chapter 9 of The Last Battle , the last Narnia book, knows that no one would dream of riding on a unicorn. And the producers let a little political correctness sneak in when Father Christmas gives weapons to the children but tells the girls, “I hope you don't have to use them because battles are ugly and fierce” instead of the original "I do not intend you to use them, for battles are ugly when women fight".
The bigger challenges to the movie are the nearly impossible expectations and the nature of Aslan himself. Coming after the Harry Potter and especially Lord of the Rings movies, the bar is pretty high when it comes to epic scenes, drama, and production values. This film mainly lives up to them and sometimes borrows from them. For example, when Jadis hisses to her minions “We’ve got work to do”, you can’t help but be reminded of Saruman, another white-clad, nihilistic villain, from Lord of the Rings uttering the same line. Yet the animation and cinematography, which are very good, merely look routine by comparison.
Aslan seems a little tamer than one described as "not a tame lion" should be. Sure, killing Jadis is pretty buff, but the sense that Aslan is both not safe and good is blurry. In fact, that very line by Mrs. Beaver, “ ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good,” is left out of the beavers’ house scene. This is one of the best lines in the whole book because it so clearly and concisely encapsulates who Aslan is. Furthermore, what should be roars range from deep growls to rather mellow bellows. Yet, in the book, “….when he opened his mouth to roar his face became so terrible that they did not dare look at it. And they saw all the trees in front of them bend before the blast of his roaring as grass bends in the meadow before the wind.” This is more than a stylistic preference. To fully appreciate Aslan’s warmth, wise counsel, suffering, and sacrifice, you also have to fully grasp the terrifying power he restrains to let those other characteristics come through when he wills them.
Alas, we do learn at the end that “He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.” I just wish that point had been driven home more clearly during the proceeding 2 hours.
These minor foibles aside, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is a splendid movie and I recommend you see it, both for it’s sense of wonder and adventure, as well as the clear presentation of the book’s messianic imagery and Christological themes.
“You aren’t dead then, dear Aslan?” said Lucy.12/10/05 Update: I had occassion to view "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" again this afternoon. As often happens, I picked up on several new things the second time I saw the movie:
"Not now,” said Aslan.
- Edmund tries to save the picture of his father during the film's opening sequence, only to see it broken. Then, when the children visit Mr. Tumnus' home after it's been ransacked, Edmund looks down to see the portrait of Mr. Tumnus' father laying on the ground, scratched by a wolf. These images are too consistent to be coincidental, but I'm not sure about the significance.
- Susan and the witch both utter the word "impossible", Susan upon entering Narnia, Jadis upon seeing the resurrected Aslan. But notice Susan eventually overcomes her disbelief to serve Aslan, Jadis remains in rebellion.
- I didn't pick up on how annoyingly cynical Susan is the first time around. She actually begs Peter to listen to Maugrim and put his sword down, when doing so would've meant certain peril.
- Lucy and Susan following Aslan to the Stone Table seem to be effigies of Mary Magdelene and the other women who followed Jesus to the crucifixion, as well as witnessed His resurrection.
- The Sword. In the bible, God's Word is referred to as the Sword of the Spirit. Jesus uses the Word of God to fend off Satan during His temptation in the wilderness. After Peter kills Maugrim, Aslan adminishes Peter to clean his sword, which could be an allusion to improving one's knowledge of and ability to use scripture. Also, Peter grows quite adept at using his sword and uses it to keep the Witch at bay until Aslan arrives. Perhaps this is a lesson that believers need to stay up on their ability to use scripture to combat the devil's schemes until Jesus returns to set things right.
- "So much for love". The Witch says this just as she's killing Aslan. Yet, this line is not in the book. What's it's significance?
- Of Deep Magic and Deeper Magic: Deep Magic is mentioned several times in the movie, but the Deeper Magic is not discussed in as many words. The theology of Deep Magic and Deeper Magic is probably a bit abstract and the filmakers maybe did not have the time or wherewithal to broach these topics and keep the film moving along. I think Deep Magic refers to the Law, or Old Testament commands. Deeper Magic seems refer to love, grace and justice, representing the characteristics of God that have existed since time eternal. This topic probably deserves it's own post....
Technorati tag: narnia
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Interesting observations, especially the second time around.
Regarding the parallels between Edmond and Mr. Tumnus, if memory serves me correctly, Mr. Tumnus told Lucy that he also had a father who went to war. He says it with such a sadness that you are led to believe that at best, war greatly changed Mr. Tumnus' father; at worst, he died.
Both instances, however, show scenes where a beloved image of the father is scarred by enemy fallout.
Since fathers are of short supply in the movie, the destruction of their memory becomes that much more of an insult (and perhaps, it provides that much more of a need for Aslan).
Dunno. A possible take on it. :)
Regarding the parallels between Edmond and Mr. Tumnus, if memory serves me correctly, Mr. Tumnus told Lucy that he also had a father who went to war. He says it with such a sadness that you are led to believe that at best, war greatly changed Mr. Tumnus' father; at worst, he died.
Both instances, however, show scenes where a beloved image of the father is scarred by enemy fallout.
Since fathers are of short supply in the movie, the destruction of their memory becomes that much more of an insult (and perhaps, it provides that much more of a need for Aslan).
Dunno. A possible take on it. :)
# posted by 
: 12/11/2005 5:35 PM
: 12/11/2005 5:35 PM
Amy,
Thanks for reading VitW.
Nice catch on the Tumnus father portrait. I hadn't seen it that way before.
Thanks for reading VitW.
Nice catch on the Tumnus father portrait. I hadn't seen it that way before.
I guess I'm gonna have to go see it again, to see what else I missed while I was getting caught up in some of the 'details' that didn't follow the book: the ice on the river scene; Edmund's exchange with Tumnus; and the film's portrayal of Susan among other things. Up for another viewing? (semi-joking - don't think I can schedule another viewing before the holidays take me to the frozen prairie)
Instead of adding to your posts here, I put my observations on 'Oz', titled The Deeper Magic of Narnia.
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Instead of adding to your posts here, I put my observations on 'Oz', titled The Deeper Magic of Narnia.
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