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MOVIES OPENING
CONTROL Prolific music-video helmer and
award-winning photographer Anton Corbijn
makes his feature directorial debut with this biographical
drama concerning the late Joy Division
frontman Ian Curtis. Based on the book Touching
from a Distance: Ian Curtis & Joy Division by the
enigmatic singer’s wife Deborah Curtis, Control
documents the life of a legend who changed the
face of modern music but never lived to witness
the remarkable impact of his life’s work. Starring:
Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson,
Alexandra Maria Lara. Rating: R
THE GOLDEN COMPASS Based on author
Philip Pullman’s bestselling and award-winning
novel,’The Golden Compass’ tells the first story
in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. ‘The
Golden Compass’ is an exciting fantasy adventure,
set in an alternative world where people’s
souls manifest themselves as animals, talking
bears fight wars, and Gyptians and witches coexist.
At the center of the story is Lyra (played
by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), a 12year-old
girl who starts out trying to rescue a
friend who’s been kidnapped by a mysterious
organization known as the Gobblers - and winds
up on an epic quest to save not only her world,
but ours as well. ‘The Golden Compass’ stars
an ensemble cast that includes Nicole Kidman,
Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, and Ian McShane. Rating:
PG-13
NOELLE Father Jonathan Keene - a cold, impatient
Catholic priest arrives in a tiny fishing
village the week before Christmas to do what he
does best: shut down a dying parish. But things
take an unexpected turn as he becomes entangled
in the various lives of the village’s eccentric
characters, including their beautiful librarian, the
childlike priest he is displacing, and the magical
experience of Mrs. Worthington’s legendary
Christmas Party, where everyone is welcome
and anything is possible. Starring: David Wall,
Sean Patrick Brennan, Kerry Brennan, Brennan
Wall, Jean Bates. Rating: PG
WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY Patrick Fugit
is Zia, a heart-broken young man who slits his
wrists only to find himself in a bizarre purgatory
populated solely by suicide victims. He soon
discovers that his ex girlfriend has also joined
this new world. Zia sets out to find her on a ‘Wizard
of Oz’-like journey that teams him up with
an odd cast of characters, including Tom Waits.
Starring: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea
Whigham, Leslie Bibb. Rating: R
NOW SHOWING
AMERICAN GANGSTER Based on the life of
drug-kingpin-turned-informant, Frank Lucas,
who grew up in segregated North Carolina. He
eventually made his way to Harlem where he
became a heroin kingpin by traveling to Asia’s
Golden Triangle to make connections, shipping
4
6 december 6-12, 2007 | entertaining u newspaper
a fantasy adventure
strong enough for a girl
The Golden Compass doesn’t tell true north
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.