I showed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the library yesterday. I guess I haven't seen it for awhile, because it hit me like an emotional sledgehammer all over again. It is very nearly a perfect movie. I said this to Laura today, and she got hesitant.
Laura: Yeah, for a kid's movie.
Me: Excuse me!? And for adult movies.
Laura: But when they fight, there's no blood on the swords.
Me: Oh, well, yeah, I totally don't mind and actually like that.
If she had other unflattering opinions, she wisely kept them to herself in lieu of finding smashed potatoes flung in her water.
What I mean is, I really love that movie. It makes me feel all the emotions! And I figured out why. Obviously there is the story of Jesus, and the scene where the creepy crawlies cut off his mane and the White Witch whispers in his ear that he has failed, so despair and die....UGH. And Aslan reappearing, and yeah, that stuff is obviously fantastic to Christians.
But that is not the only story of redemption going on. This movie is about a broken family, a broken country, a broken boy symbolizing a broken humanity...and slowly, each of these things are redeemed. The sibling hug is beautiful like the kings and queens of Narnia ruling peacefully is beautiful like Edmund destroying the White Witch's magic is beautiful like Aslan dying for a traitor is beautiful.
Brokeness and redemption. That's what The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is all about.
Bonus scene. Before Peter and Susan believe that Lucy has discovered Narnia, they ask the professor about it. He asks them if she is mad, and they say no. He asks if she lies frequently, and they say no, usually she's very honest. Then the professor says, "well, if she's not a lunatic and she's not lying, we must conclude she's telling the truth."
I SEE WHUT YOU DID THAR. Way to sneak in Lewis's famous argument in defense of Jesus, proposing that by his claims, he must either be a lunatic, a liar, or telling the truth that he is Lord.
So clever.
Such a fantastic film!
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