"The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (2010): Living in Another's Shadow

I watched Dawn Treader in 2D at a second-run theater a few weeks ago. I didn't want to see the movie in 3D, partly because I didn't want to pay the higher price. And I didn't want to wear 3D glasses. I still remember some fans' impressions of everything moving too fast, so that they got dizzy. Yet watching the ship on the water in 3D might have been really cool!

I hated the pre-show stuff, no thanks to Regal. I had to complain to the cashier about the volume. And I didn't like some of the trailers, no thanks to Fox: Green Hornet, some cartoon I don't remember, Tangled, and Flipped. I didn't like the Tangledtrailer enough to want to watch it. I'd watch Dawn Treader a few times before I'd watch Tangled once. [I didn't like Enchanted either. Maybe this says something about Disney.] I did like theFlipped trailer though. I'm not really into cartoons. I want reality. And for me, Narnia is the perfect mix of fantasy and reality.

So how was Dawn Treader the movie? I'll start with first impressions.

I loved the opening scenes. They perfectly articulated Edmund and Lucy's depression in England, a nice contrast to the magic and beauty of Narnia. The ending scenes were beautiful and serious. I cried. I loved everything about the ship, the water, and the sea creatures. It was all magical and amazing. And I loved the beauty spell episode: Lucy in the magician's house, plus her reading the spell and being transformed into Susan. It may not have matched the book, and yet it worked - for reasons few have realized. The beauty spell encapsulates the film's message. I'll explain more later. I also think the beauty spell and ending scenes were Georgie's best acting in the film, in which her whole heart and interest were engaged.

I was really impressed by Skandar's acting this time. And what amazed me was how much he can express just by his face. Those facial expressions appear in some memorable, pivotal scenes in the film. Some are plot changers; others denote character or an important reaction to someone's words or deeds. I'm thinking of Edmund's puzzlement towards Lucy outside the enlistment office, his reaction to Eustace when they arrive on the Lone Islands, Ed's angry questioning of the Dufflepuds, his first meeting with Lilliandil, and Ed's look of confident submission towards Caspian on Dark Island. No one else in the film does this with their face - just Skandar. And I don't remember him doing any of this in the first two Narnia films. Excellent job, Skandar!

I loved Reepicheep in this film, far more than in Prince Caspian [PC]. He had a perfect sense of nobility and chivalry, and encapsulated the Christian life. Apted really did get Reepicheep right! I also think they got Eustace pretty much right. He was so annoying I wanted to slap him! I loved the humor as well. It was natural, not forced. Sometimes I laughed outright. Like Caspian on Eustace: "And you're sure he's related by blood." Or Edmund choking on his drink when Eustace says he's intelligent. Or Edmund on seeing dragon Eustace's message: "You've got to be kidding." LOL!

I loved the attention to detail - like London and the ship. Sometimes the music fit perfectly - like the opening and ending scenes, and the Reep/Eustace duel. Oh how I love that fiddle! It's my favorite on the soundtrack. But in some of the battle scenes the music was too Bond-like. I also thought the pacing of the film perfect - not too fast or slow. This is Apted's style. Just watch Amazing Grace! And in the end credits, I loved Carrie Underwood's song with the Pauline Baynes illustrations. That was a beautiful touch. I wish the producers had done the same with LWW and PC.

I'm officially a Carrie Underwood fan! No one sings "There's a Place for Us" like her. When I heard Joe McElderry and EMD sing it, I wondered why the producers chose the song. But when I first heard Carrie sing it, I cried. Every time I hear it, I cry. Sometimes I wake up in the morning with this song in my head! Carrie's version has heart, emotion, strength, and vitality. Thank you, Carrie Underwood, for writing and singing "There's a Place for Us." I'll never forget it. [Side note: I think a certain radio station in Ottawa should apologize to Carrie for banning her songs and play her music for a whole 24 hours!]

Okay, now on to what I hated. And it was a lot. I hated the sea serpent [even though it was scary], the seven swords plot, and the White Witch - go away, Tilda! I also hated the green mist - because it just seems childish and dumb - and the subplot of the people being fed to it. Yet what amazed me was how integral Gael was to the film - her mother being fed into that ridiculous mist. Her character added a nice contrast to Lucy, someone also ripped away from her family yet without Lucy's valor and faith. Gael added seriousness to the voyage as well, giving Caspian a reason to go on when others wanted to turn back. And I thought Arabella's acting superb, sometimes a bit better than Georgie's. Anyway, subtracting the Gael subplot from the film would have left large gaps and unanswered questions.

Finally, I thought the magic was sometimes overdone, for special effects that didn't add anything to the plot. I loved the snow spell and Coriakin's map. But that was it. And I thought Coriakin a little too serious. The Dufflepuds episode in the book is supposed to be funny. Yet the only funny part about them in the movie is when the dufflepuds reappear. The rest is just too somber. Of course, this reflects the plot. But in the movie, Coriakin doesn't even like the dufflepuds. Except for Lucy reading the spells, I really feel like they got this episode completely wrong.

Dawn Treader had the potential to be a great movie. But transforming John (the book) into Mark (the movie) produced a tragicomic result. I think Dawn Treaderwanted to be LWW - like Lucy wanting to be Susan. The book has lyrical beauty. Its nature is episodic - a series of adventures with an underlying quest and theme. In that way, it's like John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. My message to Walden Media (and Fox) is this: don't "copy" what "worked" in LWW. Let Dawn Treader be its own story, with a unique identity and voice. The same goes for Silver Chair, Magician's Nephew, and the other books in the series. If Lewis had wanted to write LWW twice, he would have. But he didn't. Instead, Lewis wrote Dawn Treader - for a reason. The book has its own unique message - the spiritual life. [Read my book review here.] Please respect this, Walden Media! Prince Caspian didn't fail, in your eyes, because it wasn't LWW. [Of course, in my eyes it wasn't a failure. Read my movie review here.] This book also had its own voice. And I think the movie reflected that. Maybe the problem with PC was that some people wanted another LWW and didn't get it - instead of letting PC stand alone. They didn't understand the book and movie's message of faith.

Now onto the heart of my movie review.

I think I know what Dawn Treader the movie is about. And it's this: finding your true identity. That may seem trite, but I'll explain. I had left the theater and was waiting for my food at a restaurant. And I was thinking about the Narnian people being sold and fed into the mist at the Lone Islands. Then suddenly I thought of Lucy and the beauty spell. And it hit me. When the Narnians were fed into the mist, what happened? They disappeared. They lost their identity - as if they had never existed. These people were sold into spiritual darkness. They had no choice about the matter.

Yet Lucy, who surely knows better by knowing Aslan, through temptation chooses to do just what they did - by saying a magic spell that will make her become Susan. She chooses to succumb to spiritual darkness. Lucy thinks she's now beautiful, that she's getting what she wants. Yet by reciting the spell Lucy also disappears - as if she had never existed. Through the early part of the film, she lives in the shadow of Susan. For some reason, Lucy doesn't really know who she is. Her identity in Aslan isn't sure. So he must tell her, "Don't run from who you are." Lucy is valiant and beautiful, because of her faith in Aslan. When the Lion reminds her of this, and the temptation is broken, the real Lucy reappears. She then helps Gael, telling her that when she grows up she should be herself - not Lucy. It makes me think Aslan allowed Lucy to recite the beauty spell not only to see her true value but also through her experiences to help the unsure, frightened Gaels of the world. The little girl is afraid for her mother. But she also shows great valor in secretly boarding the ship and choosing to follow her father wherever the path leads. By her saying "let you be you," I think Lucy recognizes Gael's valor and tries to encourage it, at the same time assuaging her fears.

Gael wonders why Aslan allowed her mother to be taken captive instead of rescuing her at that moment. I think the answer to this is that "the end is better than the beginning," as I subtitled a post in Aslan's Meditations. In the process of Caspian and the others searching for the seven lords (and seven swords), they journey to Dark Island and through Aslan defeat the darkness - both outside and within themselves. As a result, all the captured Narnians return - not just Gael's mother.

King Caspian also lives in another's shadow, that of his father. Some reviewers acted like the Caspian-father subplot was tacked onto the end. Yet I found repeated echoes of Caspian's struggle throughout the film. His quest on Dawn Treader is to search for seven lords, friends of his father, who were banished by King Miraz. Every lord Caspian meets and rescues remembers his father, as though the old man were still present. When the green mist of temptation hits Caspian on the ship, he has nightmares about his father. Before the sea serpent battle on Dark Island, Caspian envisions his father telling him he's disappointed in him and that he isn't a real leader. Caspian clearly has identity issues. Somehow he isn't confident in his role as king. Edmund's battle with him on Goldwater Island doesn't help. But when he tells his men to fight for Narnia and Aslan, Caspian receives resounding praise - and a look of confident submission from Edmund. The climax comes at the end of the world. When Aslan offers him the chance to see his father in his own country, Caspian refuses. He knows the wrong choice would disappoint his father and realizes he must accept what he's been given - a people and a kingdom. When he accepts his leadership as king and turns away from his father, the real Caspian finally emerges - confident, ready to return and rule Narnia.

Edmund lives in the shadow of Peter (and Caspian). I'm still debating within myself whether he's actually jealous of them throughout the film, or if he was temporarily bewitched by the green mist - as Lucy believes. Both before and after his temptation on Goldwater Island, Edmund submits to Caspian as leader. Only on the island does he say he wants a kingdom and thinks he should rule. Yet Edmund is still living in Peter's shadow - wanting his successes and happiness, and possibly even his sword. He hates being treated like a child in England when he has years of battle experience in Narnia - and is recognized as a king. Edmund doesn't really know who he is anymore. He's forgotten that Aslan crowned him King Edmund the Just - and Caspian has the right to rule. Perhaps all this is what leads to the White Witch's repeated temptation of him. She is his worst nightmare because Edmund remembers her promise in LWW of making him a king instead of his siblings. He also remembers his betrayal and how it led to the death of Aslan. Somehow the Goldwater episode makes Edmund come to his senses, give up one of the seven swords that he knows doesn't belong to him - graciously receiving Peter's sword in exchange, and consciously submit to Caspian's leadership on Dark Island. Edmund even takes responsibility for Eustace when he thinks his cousin is dead. Yet all this is not enough to destroy the witch's image on Dark Island. That happens only when the seventh sword is placed on Aslan's table. When the darkness is defeated, King Edmund the Just reemerges. And when the five arrive at the end of the world, he realizes that he's needed by his family - as just Edmund. He doesn't need a kingdom to prove his identity and value.

The most dramatic loss of identity is Eustace. He changes from a boy to a dragon! So many reviewers said Eustace wasn't a nice boy long enough in the movie. Maybe he wasn't. But I did notice one scene, just after the duel, in which Eustace graciously took Reepicheep's compliment with a smile. He looked like a normal, nice boy. Then Eustace remembered himself and became nasty again. I think this was a foreshadowing of his later transformation, or maybe just his moral softening. Anyway, Eustace doesn't know who he really is or why he's even in Narnia. His behavior is so bad that when tempted with greed, Eustace succumbs and is turned into a dragon - since he has a dragon's heart. Yes, he does much good as a dragon - just like the book. And yet these good works aren't enough to transform Eustace, as he tells the others near the end of the world. Aslan himself has to rescue the boy by pulling off his dragon skin. Eustace doesn't earn the Lion's help either. Through Aslan he reemerges as a much kinder boy. He also becomes useful and helps to defeat the darkness, laying the seventh sword on Aslan's table. Thanks to Reepicheep, Eustace also learns to face problems and not run away in fear. The noble mouse sees the boy dragon's fear but tries to encourage him.

Some reviewers think Reepicheep was allowed to enter Aslan's country because he earned it through great deeds. It's a grace/works debate and many don't like that this element was allowed in the movie. They also think it negates Eustace's transformation. Yet what does Aslan tell Reep when he asks to enter the Lion's country - because of his deeds? Aslan tells him, "My country was made for noble hearts." Hearts, not deeds! It's the heart that Christ transforms. And it's the transformed heart that produces great deeds. I think Aslan's reply was a gentle rebuke. Did Reep earn his way in? No.

The main characters of Dawn Treader find their true identity only in Aslan. Only when they trust him and follow his steps do they discover themselves, who they were created to be. When the evil power is broken, and the darkness turns to light, then the Narnian people who were sold and disappeared return - and other characters find their real identities.

How does all this translate into our world? Countless people have been sold into sin, into every kind of spiritual darkness, and as a result lose themselves. They don't know who they are. They seemingly disappear. Others try to be someone they're not - and also disappear. There's nothing wrong with following, conforming to, or living in the shadow of another. This is how God created us. Yet because of sin we choose to follow and conform to the wrong people. Our true identity is found only in Jesus Christ. And this is the great paradox. It's only in losing ourselves to Jesus that we find ourselves. We must live in the shadow of Christ and follow in his steps - not that of others. Only then will we become the people God created us to be.

Carrie Underwood's "There's a Place for Us" says it well: "Exactly who we are is just enough."