by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
A Rated PG-13 113 Minutes
As the father of two girls, nothing could make me happier than to finally see a truly feminine character as the courageous young hero in a fantasy adventure film. I will preface this entire review with two statements: A) I am a Christian. Bible-believing, church-going, Jesus-lovin’ Christian. B) I read all three of the His Dark Materials books by Golden Compass author Philip Pullman with my oldest daughter.
Yes, I know churches are telling parents not to let their children see this film. My daughters both go to Catholic school and this message has been delivered from the desk of their language arts class, which I find abhorrent, since I thought the church was past the days of banning books. And yes, I can clearly see the secular humanist message behind this film. In fact, the message is far more diluted in the film version than it was in the books, but don’t use what ignorant people are saying as a reason to deprive yourself, or especially your children, of this fantastic adventure story. It is easily the most exciting film I have watched this year. Better than Spider-Man 3. Better than Harry Potter. Heck, it was even better than the Lord of the Rings movies. I’m not kidding. It rocked.
Lyra Balacqua is played exquisitely by debut film actress Dakota Blue Richards. Look for outstanding things from this terrific young actress. Lyra is a young orphan being raised by scholars at Jordan College, which is Oxford in the England of her dimension. The entire film takes place in a world parallel to ours, with many similarities but also many fundamental differences. Among those differences is the fact that the people of this world all have a daemon, which is an animal that is a physical embodiment of the person’s soul.
Lyra and her daemon, Pan (voiced by Freddie Highmore), are a curious and courageous duo. Although they do not know that the witches in this world have an ancient prophecy about her destiny, they do feel as though they are to be part of something bigger; something that has to do with Lyra’s uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), who is on a search for parallel dimensions and to destroy the authority of the magisterium (a religious hierarchy in this alternate dimension). On the opposing side of the enigmatic Lord Asriel, is the equally enigmatic Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) and her creepy golden monkey daemon.
When a secret group known by villagers and commonfolk as “The Gobblers” start stealing children, Lyra’s best friend Roger is taken. Lyra, who made a promise to Roger, is determined to save him. In this quest, her only allies are Pan and a secret device called an alethiometer, which has the ability to tell the truth. Lyra has the rare gift of being able to read the device, and with its assistance, finds compatriots she can trust.
Among those compatriots are Iorek Byrnison, an armored bear voiced by Ian McKellen, Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliot) and a ragtag group of gyptians, which are a clan of common people that are a cross between pirates and gypsies.
A critical thing to remember if you are concerned about a message of secular humanism corrupting your child’s beliefs, is to remind them (and perhaps yourself) that this story is fiction. There are not talking armored bears any more than there are hobbits or God-like lions. This film is fantasy. Lyra is a liar, but so was Huck Finn. The magisterium does represent the church, but the church has been very corrupt in real history as well. It is far better to engage a child’s imagination with a film such as The Golden Compass and then discuss the subjects it brings up than to shelter them from films such as these and have them learn about secular humanism in the much more subtle and insidious real world. And it is fodder for grown folk to discuss as well, for this film is not strictly a children’s movie.
The Golden Compass is, bar none, the best live-action, family-oriented adventure film I have seen since Return of the Jedi. From the outstanding performances by Nicole Kidman and a litany of virtual unknowns to the incredible special effects that pull you into this dynamic fantasy world with talking bears and kind witches, this film is worth watching.
Regardless of the subtextual issues such as science versus religion or the will of the human spirit being the most powerful force in the universe, these are stories we’ve heard before and they do not destroy faith, rather, they give intellectual discourse an exciting flare and they help us to better understand why we believe what we do.
But you haven’t seen a story quite like this ever before, so catch it on the larger-than-life big movie screen this winter. It is a fantastic alternative to tired Santa Claus stories that are equally as secular.
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