If I ask nicely and give it a good build up, will you go see it please?

My roommates and I skipped out on our Monday night FHE activity and went to see Chronicles of Narnia at the $1 movie last night. It was 50 cent night. (Not that 50 cent was part of the movie but that it only cost 2 quarters to get in).

Anyway I will say that this is the best movie I have seen in the last year. Generally when a movie comes out and it is based on a book, I try and read the book before seeing the movie. I finished the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe about a week ago. I was impressed and thought it was cute. I love CS Lewis, and I think he was really able to capture the Christian symbolism in a very moving manner. The book didn't make me cry. Yes I did feel a little choked up, but I didn't necessarily feel a great spiritual experience while reading the book.

Well, my roomies and I went to see it and it was excellent. It stayed relatively true to the original story, and did so much more to build on the characters and situations that in the book are generally covered in a sentence or two. I knew that I would probably need the tissues in my purse during one of the first scenes when Mrs. Pevensie puts her four children on a train to live with strangers in a different part of the country, in hopes that they would be safer there. I don't have any children of my own, but I was struck with the sudden realization that children were sent away. This moment did so much to remind me of how blessed I am to not need to make decisions like that. (Who knows if I will ever have to make a similar choice. Right now, I don't know who so many mothers did it during WWII.)

The movie was very well shot, with amazing cinematography, great sweeping vistas, seemless CGI, and excellent color temperatures and combinations. If I didn't already want to go after Lord of the Rings, I really want to go to New Zealand now. Overall an excellent job in film making. Way to go Andrew Adamson (writer, director, producer)!

Interesting thing my roommate pointed out to me. The White Witch showed a counterfeit for everything good in the world. She even tried to appear as a counterfeit Aslan in the final battle sequence. Her costume then consisted of mostly gold colored furs, with a great mane of golden fur around her neck to look like the mane of Aslan. Just and interesting tidbit Roommate #5 pointed out.

The part that moved me the most was the great poinancy with which the death of Aslan was portrayed. (I can just hear My highschool English teacher shuddering at the way that last sentence was formed). Maybe it is because of recent events that have occured since I finished the book, but it seems that now I have a much greater appreciation for the great significance. I knew that death was coming, I knew that the great king would be mocked, tortured and ultimately killed for another's wrong doing, but it still came as a shock how affected I really was by the great paralells to my faith.

Words really can't do justice to the great personal way in which I was moved. It is a great movie for anyone looking to be edified.

I can walk away from that film knowing that God loved us so much that he sent his son to be offered as a sacrifice in my place. With Easter approaching it is so amazing to know that God loves me and prepared a way for me to return and live with him, even though I am imperfect.

Go see it. It'll definitely be worth it.

(Just make sure and take some tissues, my little pack of tissues was passed down our little row of roommates and we all needed them)