As a Christmas gift, our good friends took us to see the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe this morning. I haven't been paying much attention to what others have been saying, or blogging about it. So why should you pay attention to me? It's for the simple reason of the fact that I have loved the books since I was a child. My father read them to my family when I was very young. I shuddered at Edmund's ambition and pride, thrilled at Peter's heroism and nearly burst with hope at the cracking of the stone table. In my early school days, I suffered from a visual learning disorder that made reading tedious to the point of torture. Yet one bright hope was being able to do a book report on one book of the Chronicles of Narnia. These books and this story in particular have had an enormous effect on me.

If you are a fan of J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, you know that the movies, especially the extended versions, while not true to every element of the books, did remarkably well holding to the spirit of what Tolkein sought to bring out. I will say it very plainly that they did an even better job holding to the spirit--and much of the substance--of what C.S. Lewis wrote in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. There is no trickery. They do not betray the heart of what Lewis wanted to convey. Some of the dialog is changed, obviously. Some aspects, such as Rumblebuffin and  the escape from the wolves change or disappear entirely. Other elements surface, but only to bring out nuances, not contradict what Lewis conveyed. Much more of the Battle at the Fords of Beruna, which happens on a large plain instead, is shown.

My biggest fear was that Edmund's assault on Jadis would be portrayed as earning his redemption. The movie does not come across with that at all. Instead, Edmund's sacrifice mirrors Aslan's, unannounced, unbidden, and unanticipated. Edmund's own desire for ending the queen's reign is focussed not on retribution for his own injury, but on freeing Narnians, like Wallace for the Scots in Braveheart. It is well done, indeed.

It is said that while Tolkien deplored allegory, his friend Lewis intentionally used his story for a portrayal of Christ's death and resurrection. "Jack" Lewis was surprised to find that children readily identified Aslan as Jesus, while adults had much more trouble identifying Him. As much as anyone else, I identify myself with Edmund, the traitor purchased from the consequences of his actions. I know with what price I am bought. I have hurt others, even while standing under Christ's banner. I know that I have no right to live, to enter His kingdom. And yet he calls me, from the broken stone table, and asks me to follow. Who am I to argue? I will follow.

If you want to read the Narnia books, I would recommend picking them up at Sam's Club or your local bookstore. Or if you're stuck at home on a rainy afternoon, you can read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe online. Or, check out Plugged In's online review.

Steve

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PS: Some favorite lines that did not make it into the movie follow. Most of them have to do with C.S. Lewis' portrayal of Aslan.

• "Then mark my words," said Mr. Beaver, "he has already met the White Witch and joined her side, and been told where she lives. I didn't like to mention it before (he being your brother and all) but the moment I set eyes on that brother of yours I said to myself 'Treacherous.' He had the look of one who has been with the Witch and eaten her food. You can always tell them if you've lived long in Narnia; something about their eyes."
• "Lord love you, Son of Adam, what a simple thing to say!" answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. "Turn him into stone? If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face it'll be the most she can do and more than I expect of her.
• "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he [Aslan] isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
• [After the stone table has cracked] "Oh, children," said the Lion, "I feel my strength coming back to me. Oh, children, catch me if you can!" He stood for a second, his eyes very bright, his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail. Then he made a leap high over their heads and landed on the other side of the Table. Laughing, though she didn't know why, Lucy scrambled over it to reach him. Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began. Round and round the hill-top he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws and catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fur and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one has ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind. And the funny thing was that when all three finally lay together panting in the sun the girls no longer felt in the least tired or hungry or thirsty.

This is very important. We need to realize that, as the Author of life, God is Himself brimming with life. He loves to be with us, to run when we run, to laugh when we laugh. He made us to be His children and to enjoy Him forever as He will enjoy us forever. So, in this one part, I think the movie fails it's audience, but few movie-goers would understand why Aslan is playing around on the eve of battle. Too little, I think, is made of God's omniscience. Still, it's a minor point, but of significant personal worth to me. What are you waiting for? Go out and see it! Come further up, further in!

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