There's been a lot of huff'n'puff about the youth oriented fantasy film The Golden Compass which comes out today. The film has been gaining steam over the past few months due to it's supposed undertones and the controversy surrounding it.
Several concerned groups and parents claim the film's original source material, Philip Pullman's series of books titled "His Dark Materials", carry overt anti-Christian/religious themes and give a negative influence on the hearts and minds of impressionable young readers and they have even gone so far as to point out Pullman's theologically Gnostic views on religion as a reason to boycott the film incarnation of his works. The argument is that if children see this film, they will inadvertently desire to read the author's original source novels, which will then of course send them on a spiral into atheism and the whole hand-basket sort of thing.
To summarize: the film is about Lyra (new-comer Dakota Blue Richards), an orphaned girl with a tough shell and a penchant for disobedience and questioning of authority figures. She's given a unique gift known as an alethiometer, which looks like a shiny, fat compass. This compass allows her to see the truth and only she can operate it. After her best friend Roger goes missing, Lyra sets out on a quest to find him, stop his kidnappers (the Gobblers) and expose the tyranny of the dogmatic institution known as the Magesterium, lead by some creepy British guys and Nicole Kidman's icy villain Marisa Coulter at the same time uncover the mysteries surrounding something called "Dust", a parallel universe that has driven her uncle Lord Asrial (Daniel Craig, keeping loose for the next bond no doubt) on a journey to the frozen terrain of Svalbard, where the armored bears live! There's also flying witches with bows and arrows and a bunch of pirate looking people known as gyptians, oh and everyone each has an invisible animal that's a reflection of their spirit or nature called a deamon. There's a whole lot more to this film but you get the gist.
So is the film really worth the controversy and boycotting?! Fortunately for parents, they really needn't worry.
On the surface, The Golden Compass looks to be a wonderful and captivating fantasy film full of thrilling adventure. And judging by the trailer and its choice of shiny gold fonts and brassy, epic music and swooping epic battle shots that I've seen in previous fantasy films, this film may just take me to a dreamland of magic and jewelry toting little people after all. Too bad the film doesn't live up to that promise. That's not to say the film was dreadful. It was actually quite enjoyable. It's just that with so many fantasy films coming out, it'll be hard to see this film setting itself apart from the almost half dozen fantasy films coming out in the near future.
Case in point, the four trailers they showed before The Golden Compass all had the same "look" as this film. By the third one I couldn't remember which film was being advertised. Was it Prince Caspian or Inkheart? The Waterhorse or Spiderwick Chronicles? But after the first fifteen minutes or so I actually began to enjoy the film, gradually getting into the more fantastical plotlines, willingly tagging along with Lyra and her quest for truth and rescuing and golden compassing. The visuals and special FX were at times stunning and eye popping, on par with other fantasy films, albeit a little carbon copyish, even though the film's elements of metaphysics and parallel universes were highly entertaining. Truth is I wouldn't avoid recommending this film to others.
So the question begs to be answered: Does it live up to the controversy? Should it be boycotted? I invited a local pastor to go along with me to this screening and get his take on the material and although he could see some of the film's more apparent overtones; its anti-authority/anti-dogmatic slant, he never felt as though there was a direct attack on any sort of theology. (And truth be told, without any direct acknowledgement it's impossible to see it as an attack on any one thing specifically.) He couldn't say that he would directly urge a child or parent to not see this film but rather -and we both agree on this- that any concerned parent should, first and foremost, have a healthy and open dialogue with their child about this film (or others like it) should they desire to see it. And honestly that's really where the issue lies. If a parent is truly concerned about what their child is reading or watching then they should be aware of the film or book or game they're partaking in. Will The Golden Compass live up to the controversy? Will it lead thousands of children and young people onto a path of heathen behavior? Probably not. There are probably at least a handful of shows on cable or primetime TV that present a far bleaker view on humanity than The Golden Compass. Not to mention most video game titles. All they will gain is an enjoyable, if cookie cutter, fantasy film that will only keep them occupied for the two-hour runtime of the film. By the time the lights go up they'll be clamoring to see The Waterhorse or Inkheart or The Spiderwick Chronicles or whatever new, shiny gold fonted, fantasy film that's on the horizon. And that's about it.
Till next time, Enjoy Chaz