Friday, November 19, 2010

The Boy Who Lived


Photo epic fail. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the only Harry Potter book I have. And I had to use it as a prop because I am corny like that and because I think it will be relevant to what I am going to write today.

I have to admit, I wasn’t really looking forward to watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There’s a sense of unreality/denial that it is finally coming to an end. We are finally saying adios to the characters we have virtually grown up with. But what the heck. I have already read the book so…

The first part really did justice to the book. To divide it into two movies was a spark of genius. In doing so, they were able to capture the dread and the grief, the forbidding atmosphere, the hopelessness and despair. They are all there – it is almost tangible. 

What I loved about it was that it wasn’t overkill. Not even the music. There was this part when they Harry, Ron and Hermione were running from some bounty hunters (who eventually took them to Lucius Malfoy). I was expecting some sort of dramatic musical arrangement to build up the suspense. And they were like throwing spells here and there and the three protagonists were running for their lives. But there was no music. Only the hushed stirring of the exchange of spells. It was so effective. I was pretty sure that’s how near-death experiences feel like. You can’t feel anything except the rush. You can't see anything beyond the blur. And you can’t hear anything except the frantic beat of your heart. And you grip the edge of your seat in dreadful anticipation that someone might get struck by a green light and he or she will just drop dead. 

And Dobby’s death was nothing short of gut-wrenching. It brought tears to my eyes. I thought Dumbledore’s and Sirius’ deaths were a little anticlimactic. But for some reason, Dobby’s death was more heart-rending. Maybe it was because he was such a little hero who wanted nothing but to be a good friend to Harry. Or maybe it was the fact that it wasn’t his battle to fight but he chose to save Harry and his friends. Since his character was introduced, most people overlooked him because he was just an elf. And it was a touch throat-burning that though he could have been just a background character, he was given a special role. Harry cried, of course, having lost a special friend. But just silent anguish. Like he couldn’t cry anymore because of the deaths he had to witness (I mean seriously, he was like there in all the deaths of the major characters of the book—his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Snape).

I can’t wait for the next part. I would like to see more of Ginny and Neville. I’d like to see Harry, Ron and Hermione as grown-ups with kids. 

So, if you haven’t seen the latest Harry Potter film yet, you should get your butt to the theatre pronto!

PS: Gomen ne, I'm not the best medium for words. Forgive my lack of eloquence. As it turned out, I am still in awe of this movie.

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