(no subject)

[rymenhild]

I saw Serenity on Friday. I saw Mirrormask today. While I enjoyed Serenity and would certainly be willing to see it again, it doesn't even share a 'verse* with Mirrormask. I walked out of the theatre today absolutely dazed, having lost most of the facility of speech. (If I said anything particularly stupid to anyone who was there with me, I apologize. My brain fell down the rabbit hole.)

In the absence of coherent critical language with which to approach Mirrormask, I suppose I can fall back on the old love-child-of-X-and-Y cliché, thus: If Hayao Miyazaki fathered a child on the entire cast, crew and design staff of Cirque de Soleil, and dressed the baby in garments made from early works of Mark Rothko, the infant might look something like Mirrormask.

Go, my friends. Run. This movie will not be in theatres very long; it may not be in theatres near you at all. If it is, you need to see it.

* Translation for benefit of non-fans: 'Verse is short for "universe" in Firefly and Serenity slang.

ETA, before I put the computer away: I had heard they were cutting all of the theology out of the Narnia movie. The idea upset me; Narnia without Christianity is just as far from the spirit of the text as His Dark Materials without anticlericalism.

Therefore, I was thrilled when I saw the trailer preceding my roommate's Hitchhiker's Guide DVD. Immediately following a shot of the Professor's mansion, white words appear on a black screen: "In this house there are many rooms." Of course, a casual viewer without a stake in the idea of Narnia as Christian allegory might not recognize John 14:2. Nevertheless, if the filmmakers are willing to cite the "New Testament" (Query: Is the politically correct term "Greek Bible"?) in a trailer available to the general public, there is real hope for Narnia.

***

I will be absent from all things LiveJournalish (and, in fact, all things computerish) from now until Wednesday night, due to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah (the New Year). May you all have a good and sweet New Year. May this year, 5766 on the Jewish calendar, bring us a better world than the one we saw last year.

Comments

[curiosity.livejournal.com]

They can't use the heavy X-ian overtones in the Narnia stuff. They used up their quota in Ursula K. LeGuin's books-made-nightmare :P

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Hello and welcome to my journal!

I haven't seen any of the movie or TV adaptations of LeGuin books... but the reviews of the TV/movie versions I've seen suggest I'm probably better off with the books. Which adaptation are you referring to, and why would it preempt a heavily Christian treatment of Narnia?

(I'll guess some version of Lathe of Heaven, but I really have no idea.)

[schiarire.livejournal.com]

*weeps* Mirrormask will go awaaay b/c it's only for a week and and I can't get out there before then. *lives vicariously through your memories*

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

Shana tova, my dear.

The BBC filmed some of the Narnia books decades back and I ended up watching The Silver Chair with my ex-girlfriend a year or so ago. It was dire in some ways and hilarious in others. Prince Rillian first appeared looking like a girl (long flowing dress, long flowing hair with a fringe, dopey smile), but later turned up in bondage gear (black leather clothes, gimp mask, very slimy manner, leching all over the children), and that was before they started tying him to the chair. I don't think my ex had seen it since childhood, she realised just how much they'd all been missing then.

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Shanah Tovah U'Metukah.

[fleurdelis28.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that the Narnia books are probably -- more than maybe anything else I can think of -- uniquely qualified to have their symbolic overtones survive no matter how non-explicit you make them. They're too deeply woven in to the fabric of the plot and the world, if you know to look. (Then again, it's also possible to miss them completely if you don't have the contextual background, and just see a free-standingly nifty story. They're good like that.)

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[prosewitch.livejournal.com]

Nuts, I can't make the 4-hour drive to Chicago for Mirrormask this week. :( I found your description very amusing, though! Take care, and have a good new year!

[tovaks.livejournal.com]

Shanah Tovah!

[wildblueyonder2.livejournal.com]

I'll join in the chorus of Shanah Tovah.

I saw Serenity. Have not yet seen Mirrormask. I thought Serenity was a fun movie, good action, reasonable, if usual SciFi plot. Browsing a few other reviews, I saw one very good point: George Lucas could have learned a lot about making a fun film if he had watched Serenity before attempting any of his more recent films. Yup, better than Star Wars in many ways. It won't ever be a "great" film, but it's certainly enjoyable (outside of the why-did-they-do-that-to-my-favorite-character(s) problems I had with it).

I need to get around to Mirrormask someday after I finish procrastinating long enough to read 800 pages and write 25. I also need to finish the most recent Gaiman book. Oh, and also the latest Harry Potter (man, did the summer disappear that quickly?). Looking forward to Narnia, though I should also probably review the books for the first time in a decade before going to see the movie.