As the students are gathering in the grand hall in the opening ceremony of another year at Hogwarts, a student choir sings "Something wicked this way comes." Well, I don't know about you, but the only thing I find wicked about this third film in the world-renowned classic Harry Potter series is that it is so wickedly good! For the first time in this series, this Harry Potter adaptation graduates from being a predominately kids franchise to something that adults can sink their teeth into.
Alfonso Cuaron brought a level of sophistication to the series. Gone were the long shots of smarmy looks, slightly melodramatic scenarios, and unrealistic set design and visual effects. (I'm particularly referring to the last film, specifically the entrance of the chamber of secrets which seemed more fitting for a Star Wars film. And speaking of the chamber of secrets, whoever decided to make the basilisk the size and length of Disney's Monorail made a grave mistake. I mean, really, it was implausable that a creature that size could get around Hogwarts in the pipes unless those pipes were the size of the Chunnel. And come on, who would believe that a snake that size would slither unnoticed around the halls of Hogwarts?)
Kloves script was tight, seemingly focused on two main themes--the Harry Potter/Sirius Black relationship and Harry Potter's longing for his parents. There were no extended matches of Quiditch and no end of the year counting up of points to see which house won the prestigious house cup. All of this is good for the franchise in my point of view because, really, after all of the dangerous adventures and near-death experiences that Harry, Hermione, and Ron have lived through, these events are seemingly trivial.
And this is one thing that concerned me going into this film. Will the script and Cuaron's direction create and present a Harry that shows the scars of his experience? After having battled Voldermort twice and come out alive, Harry should exhibit a bit more courage and wisdom, if not a bit of fearlessness and pride.
I was not disappointed. In the beginning, Harry does exhibit more angst and rebelliousness towards the Dursley's; consider the fact that he didn't cower under the condescending remarks of Aunt Madge. And did you notice in this exchange that the Dursley's didn't command Harry around as much. They too showed the marks of experience from the previous year, in which Uncle Vernon fell two stories out of Harry's window in an attempt to stop Harry from fleeing to school.
Cuaron added more depth to Harry's character through metaphor. It seemed Cuaron used symbolism that highlighted the emptiness that Harry feels not having parents. For example, when Harry runs away from the Dursley's, reeling mad after hearing Aunt Madge insult the character of Harry's dad and mom, he runs out into the damp and dark night.
We hear the sound of his rolling suitcase echo off the houses, concrete, and asphalt. We see him walking off into a distance that is crowded with homes with lighted windows, but we know, as does Harry, that none of those homes are his. There is a moment when this dawns on him and he stops and sits down on a dimly lit curb. The park behind him is as empty as it is dark. The scene added a visually symbolic exclamation point that Harry was not just alone, he was lost and empty. Knowing his circumstance, we knew this emptiness was the void left from not knowing his parents, not having them.
The Dementors added a touch of horror to this film. They were as eerie and frightening as Peter Jackson's representation of the Ringwraiths. Yet, the Dementors were even more so eerie because of how they could kill you, by sucking out your goodness, or your soul (if you received the "kiss"). The visual effects depicting the Dementors sucking the goodness out of you were masterfully realized, cleverly accomplished, bone-chilling, and horrific. I wondered if that alone could be the core of any child's nightmares for nights to come. To me, the visual depiction reminded me of a smeared photograph--while the photograph was being taken, the camera slightly moved, distorting the image of the person so slightly that there also appears to be the ghost of the person stepping outside of the body.
One aspect of Cuaron's directing that I love is how he can get the audience more involved in the film, as if we are participants. Let me try to explain what I mean with this example from his last film Y Tu Mama Tambien. One of the main characters, Ana Morelos, is sitting in the doctors office. We can't see her at first but we can hear her. The camera slowly moves down the hall in the direction of their conversation. We follow along with the camera as it views pictures hanging on the walls. It finally pauses at the entry to the room where the doctor and Ana talk. The camera then walks in and we sense we have just joined them. Somehow, this technique makes the conversation more poignant to us.
There were glimpses of this technique in the opening scenes with the Dursley's. It was used going in and out of the great hall. It was used coming in and out of scenes in the rooms and classrooms of Hogwarts, especially Professor Trelawney's. It was used when Harry snuck into Madame Rosmerta's cavern to listen to the conversation between Professor McGonagall and the Director of the Ministry of Magic.
The script also allowed Cuaron to use this technique when Harry and Hermione transported back in time to clean up events that had occurred on that fateful evening.
The photography is something to be noted highly too. To me, the landscapes of Hogwarts have never been so well-defined and dynamic.
On another note, The Prisoner of Azkaban has one of the greatest time transitions I can recall. There is a scene in which Harry's owl is flying from the forest to Hogwarts. The camera is positioned in a manner so that we see the owl flying toward us. As the owl approaches, snowflakes begin to fall. As the owl passes, snow is falling and it begins to accumulate on the ground. As Hogwarts comes into view, and as the camera begins following the owl (as if it were a flying thing too) snow falls heavily and it is completely winter. Simply breathtaking.
Steve Kloves' script is meaningful and touching. I appreciated Dumbledore's remarks in the beginning of the film that state that even in dark times, one can find the light if they but turn on the light. I appreciated Professor Lupin's remarks to Harry about his mother and father; and the dialogue that transpired between Lupin and Harry when Lupin trained Harry to dispell attacking Dementers.
I've heard many who complain that the book is better than the movie because the movie left out too many important facts. If there is one thing I've learned about films, it is that they can never be replicas of the books they are adapted from. They really are intended to be their own creatures. The Prisoner of Azkaban works well as its own work, separate of the intentions and expectations of the book. Cuaron could have incorporated everything but would have sacrificed a tightly woven work focussed on the themes revolving around Harry / Sirius Black / Lupin / Pettigrew's relationship and Harry's longing to know his parents, (which, by the way, was incredibly stronger in this film and done in a highly moving manner).
Thanks to a masterful cast and crew, particularly Alfonso Cuaron, stunning photography, and meaningful script, Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkabon is not only one of my favorite films of the year but possibly one of the best films of the year, too.
