Harry's Even More Magical World

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2007)

Alfonso Cuarón is probably one of the most eclectic directors in all of Hollywood. I first became interested in him after viewing the film Y Tu Mamá También, and began to devour his other works including Great Expectations and A Little Princess. Every film of his is a gem, and completely different from the previous, but the one film that really stood out in my mind as a showcase of his work was, incredibly enough, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Now, I am by no means a very big Harry Potter fan. Yes, I've read the books, and yes I've seen the movies, but they were never really a very big deal for me, like they were for some of my peers. What drew my attention to the film was the attachment of Alfonso Cuarón to the job of directing.
After two financially successful Harry Potter films, Chris Columbus called it quits, and in 2003, the job was up for grabs. Columbus, after a string a very successful family films including Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Stepmom, had developed a very predictable way of directing, which, for me, made the first two Harry Potter films incredibly dull. When I became aware that Cuarón was taking the job, I grew very excited for the release of the film. In his other works, Cuarón had found a way of completely opening up the film to let the audience be entirely immersed in a world they are not part of. He gives the audience room to imagine what is beyond the scope of the camera and the walls of Hogwarts. I love everything about this technique because it gives such a sense of possibility and limitlessness.
While many cynics, especially kids who have read the book, as it's likely the only book they've read which has been made into a movie, object to the removal of subplots in the film, they are missing the overall aesthetic and feel of the film. The third movie feels more like a Harry Potter book. While only focusing on the linear events of Harry Potter, Columbus missed out on the broad world of Harry Potter, which is exactly what Cuarón provided. Cuarón spent a great deal of time showcasing the lusciousness of the castle, the beauty of the grounds, and the overall quirkiness of everyday objects in this world. He paid extra special attention to the colors that were placed in the film, green for jealousy, and red for warning. Cuarón managed to set up incredibly complicated camera shots that weave in and out of rooms, over turrets, and across lakes. These small touches are what emphasize the magic of Harry's world, and not the actual events that happen in the narrative. Everybody knows they can do magic and everybody knows the invisibility cloak works. It's how the director engages the audience by the use of camera movement that the audience feels that they too, can be a part of this.
Cuarón also binds magical elements to the elements of the real world. Like in A Little Princess, the audience is not quite sure how all of those food and luxury items appeared in Sara's room, but they like it just the same. In Great Expectations it's quite unrealistic to believe that Fin gets this remarkable chance to display his art and become famous, but it is bound with very realistic elements such as poverty, and heart brokenness, that makes the audience come to believe that this could really happen. Cuarón uses the same techniques in The Prisoner of Azkaban. Throughout most of the film, the main characters are never seen with their robes on, yet appear performing magic all the time. Having these two elements juxtaposed together engages the audience even more, because these are kids who wear the same clothes, talk about the same things, and have the same problems that everyone does. The audience can relate to the characters, and feel like they area part of the story, rather than idly watching. Cuarón emulates what J.K. Rowling's books were trying to invoke in readersa sense of belonging.
A well directed film will not necessarily leave the viewer continuing to think about the plot of the film, or even its social implications, but a well directed film will make you think in terms of the world it was set in. After The Prisoner of Azkaban, the audience wants to know what else is going in this world. They want to know what lies deep in the forbidden forest; they want to know the ins and outs of the castle; and because of the omnipotence of the camera, the audience believes that they are entitled and have the ability to know more. This was not a film told in a linear way, but in an incredibly 3-dimensional world, where anything is possible, and it is they way that Cuarón illustrates this with his techniques that makes this film amazing.