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Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban
Director: Alfonso Cuarón (2004)
Distributor: Warner Bros. Certificate: PG
Spoiler notice: If you read on will become aware
of how the film ends.
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Main Characters:
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As you probably already know, this is the third Harry Potter movie, based on the third of five novels (so far) by JK Rowling. There will be seven novels in all, with each one set in a different year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Naturally, this means that each story will have a slightly different feel as Harry Potter and his friends grow a year older book-by-book, with Harry to be a young adult in the final instalment.
This difference in tone can definitely be felt in the third
film. The characters (and of course the actors) have grown since the first
film (Harry Potter and
the Philosopher’s Stone) 2½ years ago. They have entered their early
teenage years, and this is reflected in the characters struggling with difficult
emotions, mortality, the opposite sex, and more. And Hermione Granger has learnt
how to punch school bullies! This film has a new director (Alfonso Cuarón)
who has adopted a darker, often gloomier tone for the film.
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I, for one, am pleased. I am a BIG fan of the first two films, but this third outing for Harry Potter and co is a welcome change of pace. There is much about death in this film, with Harry having to face head-on the death of his parents when he was a baby, as well as having to confront the person convicted for their murder. This type of plot does not suit a bright and breezy directing style, and Alfonso Cuarón has tackled the subject matter admirably, with many dark shots and creepy set-pieces, much of the action taking place at night. The characters of the Dementors are particularly menacing (they look like the angel of death), and their presence at Hogwarts is continually felt, even when we can’t see them. |
I took my daughters to see this with me. Both have read the book, and their only criticism was that many scenes have been left out. I haven’t read the book myself, but I do understand that the Harry Potter stories get longer each time, so this will be even more of a problem in future films. As it is, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is nearly 2½ hours long. I was engrossed and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone. Roll on the DVD release!
THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
Be warned. My favourite section of the whole film
comes in the last half-hour, and this is what I want to write about. Please
don’t read on if this will spoil the story for you.
Got that? Good. Now for a confession: I’m a sucker for time travel stories.
I love Doctor Who and the Back to the Future films. Therefore I was pleasantly
surprised to discover that the final scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban deals with this very subject. There are various events that our
heroes experience – the execution of Hagrid’s pet Hippogriff, Harry Potter’s
confrontation with escaped convict Sirius Black, a bombshell involving Ron
Weasley’s pet rat, and a showdown with the Dementors at a lakeside at night,
where it looks like the end for Harry until a mysterious figure comes to his
rescue.
At the end of this scene I thought that the film had finished. It turned out
there was another half an hour to go. Professor Dumbledore encourages Harry
and Hermione to go back in time and revisit all of the above events. Nothing
changes. The scene plays out exactly the same, and time hasn’t been altered.
But now we see the exact same events from a different point of view. It turns
out the Hippogriff wasn’t killed after all; the executioner had swung his axe
elsewhere. Secret conversations are overheard, casting a different light on
certain events and people. And the mysterious figure that saved Harry at the
lake was Harry himself, roughly thirty minutes into the future.
The reason I am fascinated by stories of time travel is that I would love to
go back in the past and revisit certain events in my life. But if I was to
do that, would they be different to how I remembered them? I sometimes remember
various hurts and painful experiences, and often find it hard to forgive the
people involved. But if I was to go back and see things again, maybe from another
perspective, they might make more sense, I might find it easier to understand
the actions and motives of the people I thought had hurt me, and I may even
find it easier to forgive.
Time travel hasn’t been invented yet. But we can still revisit events of the
past using our memories. If there is someone that you struggle to forgive,
reflect on the relevant period of time in your mind. Stand in the shoes of
that person or people, and try to see things from their point of view. Maybe
the thing or things that they did are inexcusable, but understanding why they
did them might be helpful, and could even help you to forgive. A good prayer
for me has always been: “God, help me to see that person as you see them. Help
me to love that person as you love them. Help me to forgive and understand
my enemies, just as Jesus commanded.” In Hollywood movies, people are often
either goodies or baddies. But in real life it is not that simple. Often, the
people we view as baddies are still loved by God, still have good points about
them, and maybe even have families or children that love them.
Harry Potter modelled this very principle in the film. Sirius Black was put
in jail for murdering Harry Potter’s parents, and Harry was ready to confront
him and seek revenge. But then he realised that there was more to Sirius than
met the eye, there was a different side to him that no one knew about it, and
once Harry knew all the facts it put a radically different slant on things.
By the end of the film Harry and Sirius became the best of friends, with Sirius
even becoming a substitute father figure to him.
Forgiveness, and seeing things from another point of view, can be powerful
and life-changing. It was certainly powerful for Harry Potter in his latest
adventure. He learnt a very important lesson, and he would never be the same
again.
Have your say on the discussion forum....
· Have you ever had a painful, intense or memorable experience, then years
later spoken to some of the people involved and realised things weren’t quite
how
you saw them at the time? What happened? How did your understanding of the
event change? Did you see things differently, and what, if anything, did you
do about it?
· The Dementors were a constant presence at Hogwarts during the latest Harry Potter film. They were on the lookout for Sirius Black, but they were also ready to suck life and energy from anyone they came across. To me, the Dementors might represent depression, a bad job, or any number of things that strip us of our joy or energy. Do you have any “Dementors” in your life? How do you deal with them?
To discuss this further why not leave a message of the discussion forum.
