INSTEP Magzine

Director Chris Weitz's Golden Compass is quite similar in look, feel and storyline to its more well known counterparts in the fantasy genre. Like the Harry Potter series, the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it features a chosen one's journey towards self discovery, the lure of a promised land and an epic (read heavily animated) battle between the forces of good and evil.

Adapted from the book Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman, the Golden Compass takes the viewers to the world of Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards); a fantastical parallel universe which is ruled by a fanatical cult called the Magisterium aiming to eliminate dissent and free thought. A distinguishing feature of Lyra's world (and a tantalizing idea in general) is the physical incarnation of the human soul in the form of 'daemons'; animal accomplices that follow each person around. Boldly defying the Magisterium with photographic proof of other worlds and other existence is Lyra's uncle and guardian Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig). The plucky, tale-telling, inquisitive, and strong-willed Lyra, turns out to be the Magisterium's greatest threat because she is the child destined to possess the last remaining Golden Compass, a truth-telling device. Enter the femme fatale Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) the arch nemesis of not just Lyra but all children who seem to be disappearing without a trace. The ensuing adventures take Lyra over sky and ocean to the north in the company of a diverse mix of characters from Nomadic 'Gyptians' to cowboy aeronauts and witches that fly the sky to armoured ice bears that rule the north.

Debutante Dakota Blue Richards is charming and conveys her character's vulnerability, stubbornness and inquisitiveness ably. Nicole Kidman as the evil Mrs. Coulter effortlessly radiates both the icy beauty and hidden malice her character possesses. Actors like Christopher Lee, Daniel Craig and Eva Green are wasted in underdeveloped parts. An interesting idea is the depiction of the character's secret thoughts and hidden desires through their animal accomplices. Lord Asriel's demon is a tiger: strong and powerful like him. Mrs Coulter has a monkey rapidly changing from good to aggressive. Lyra's daemon keeps changing forms from cat to bird to chipmunk suggesting she hasn't quite 'found herself'. The enemy guards are all accompanied with either Doberman dogs or wolves. This technique provides insight into the characters' mind that otherwise needs to be expressed solely by the actor/actress.

The film's real superiority lies in its realization of a bewildering, exotic new universe through deft use of CGI. What makes The Golden Compass a truly fun filled journey is the wondrous imagery and an array of mysterious creatures digitally realized in astonishingly rich detail. Or maybe the desi viewer's exhilaration borrows from the fact that the brains behind the digital wizardry, the film's technical director Mir Zafar Ali was born and raised in Pakistan and actually won for the film its only Oscar in the category for best special effects. What a truly well deserved honour!

Conversely the film's biggest flaw is confusion in identification of its target audience. While the children whose adventures it chronicles are of the pre-teen age group, the various allusions that are made to arcane concepts like the dust, the Magesterium's attempts to rein in heretics and various other themes are hardly geared towards young children. Moreover the film's length (just under 2 hours) makes it impossible to delve upon some integral sub-plots like the polar bear Iorek Byrnison, attempts at rediscovering his lost armour. The action moves relentlessly from scene to scene with very little scope for characterization. It seems that the director has strung together the most powerful scenes from the book with little exposition in between. As a result some of the characters like Lord Asriel and Serafina Pekkala seem pretty hollow and one dimensional. Then again it would be erroneous to expect a film to capture the full scope and subtle nuances of a book which is an entirely different medium of expression altogether. Maybe that is how the film is intended to be viewed as a fantasy adventure for the child in us all.

And yet The Golden Compass is no tame fantasy adventure. The book landed itself in trouble for its rejection of organized religion and references towards abuse of power in the Catholic Church. And while the film steers clear of the controversy by modeling the Magesterium on any repressive regime, even avoiding the words God and religion altogether, it actually ended up earning the ire of both religious and secular groups. Die hard fans of Pullman's books have dismissed the film for adulterating the spirit of the books, subtly hinting at what the book fully explores. On the other hand church organizations have called for a boycott of the film for bringing attention to the much more 'deviant' text of the novels. The discerning viewer may notice the religious outlook of the Magisterium through use of words like 'oblation' and 'heresay' but since the film primarily appeals to the sensibilities of a PG 13 audience, these references hardly have a bearing upon the story. Or at least in the first installment they don't.

Controversies aside fans of the fantasy genre wouldn't be too disappointed in the Golden Compass' world of gadgetry, grandeur and intrigue. For others watch it for the special effects. Recognition from the academy may be the ultimate honour but love and respect of the people is surely what nourishes an artist. Let's watch this for Mir Zafar Ali, the Pakistani man who worked on the visual effects of the film and picked up an Oscar for it!

– Mariam Khurram

*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME