Tuesday, January 25, 2011

ode to reepicheep: review of Voyage of the Dawn Treader




I waited until I'd reread the book because it had been a long time. I'm glad I did-- it helped me appreciate the movie. Voyage of the Dawn Treader (VDT) is a poignant little ditty. Several scenes are breath-taking. CSL has a knack for coming up with simple, concrete symbolism to explain incredibly complex, esoteric ideas. For instance, Eustace the Dragon trying to rub off his skin and Aslan taking over and cutting deep and hurting Eustace in order for him to become human. However, CSL falls short with delivery and presentation. He's a brilliant chef who serves his french cuisine on dusty paper plates. Lewis's ideas are enjoyable, but he doesn't get mired down with smooth transitions or integrating different threads of story throughout the books. Perhaps he'd been seduced by the deus ex machina of the stories he'd studied. Early literature isn't overly concerned with plausibility. My uncle pointed out that although he prefers the Chronicles of Narnia that JRR Tolkien writes a far tighter and more integrated story. CSL's stories are highly imaginative and scantily clad biblical theology.

The movie is very different from the book in chronology and has fewer scenes. However, the movie tightens the story line by introducing the "green mist" as the overarching conflict. Furthermore, the movie introduces a reason for sailing by collecting the swords of the seven lords to dispel the dreaded green mist and reclaim the Narnians that had been sacrificed to the evil. The movie takes many liberties with the book, but most are in line with the book. I really missed the part of Eustace becoming a dragon and slowly figuring out that he's the dragon that he's trying to escape-- it's funny and a great explanation of the doctrine of sin. And, the other scene near the end when Aslan tells Lucy and Edmond that they won't be back. The movie leaves out the part where Lucy tells Aslan that it is He that she will miss not Narnia.

However, the best part of VDT movie and book is Reepicheep, the valiant mouse who won't shut up. He's the most endearing character in the books! He has such a huge heart, which we see with kindness and gentleness with Eustace the Dragon. We see it again as he sings his song about Aslan's land. He is all about honor and friendship; he's a knight of the first order. He's extremely comfortable with himself and doesn't accept limitation and cowers to no one or no circumstance. It's such a beautiful scene when Lucy finally gets to hug him.

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