RonVitale

Why I Love J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter

July 15 will be a bittersweet day for me as it marks the release of the last Harry Potter film. Being a fan from the first book, I look back and remember my girlfriend (now my wife), telling me about J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Philosopher’s Stone for you UK fans). I read the first book and couldn't wait to read the next.

Yet what has touched me so much about the Harry Potter series is not only the great storytelling and imagination clearly present in the books, but learning of J. K. Rowling’s struggle as a writer. When she was writing the first book, she had recently lost her mother to multiple sclerosis, was separated from her husband, struggling to be a single mom and clinically depressed. She has since admitted contemplating suicide at that time. Yet with all these challenges, she chose life and to write the Harry Potter series. She stuck to her craft and kept on trying even after the first book was rejected by 12 publishing houses. Today more than 450 million Harry Potter books have been sold around the globe. As a writer myself, she's given me hope.

Since 1997, I have read the Harry Potter books as a young man, as a husband, and read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when I became a father for the second time to my now 4 year-old daughter. Back in 2007 on the day of the release, I woke up early and rushed to the supermarket as my wife, son, 10 day-old daughter and I were headed to the beach later that morning. I had forgotten that the Amazon order would not arrive until after we left for our trip so I hoped to pick up a second copy of the book as a surprise for my wife. So at 6am, I walked into the grocery store and smiled seeing a stack of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows books on a table in the front of the store. I purchased one and rushed home to give it to my wife so that she could start reading it during our car ride.

When my turn came to read the book, I wondered: How would J. K. Rowling end the series? While reading, what touched me most is the scene in which Ron uses the sword of Gryffindor to destroy a Horcrux. With arm raised, Harry yells at him to stab the evil artifact, but instead Ron hears all his fears--how he's the least loved by his mother and how Hermione secretly wants to be with Harry. All his fears and doubts are poured out to him by the Horcrux, and in that moment of hesitation, Ron nearly falters. Yet when all seems most lost, he strikes with the sword, destroying the Horcux. How often have we feared that we're not good enough, that we cannot succeed and that we are weak and insignificant? Yet J. K. Rowling has Ron face his fears and overcome them.

The Harry Potter series is about Harry being the hero, the Chosen One, yet the message is deeper than that. Harry succeeds because of his friends. He needs them as much as they need him. Ron, Hermione and Harry form a perfect bond that enables them to work together with the rest of the wizard world to save the day. As much as Harry wants to carry his burden on his own, his friends remind him that he cannot do it alone.

So as I rushed through the last book, trying to get to the climactic battle between Voldemort and Harry, I wondered how would the series end? As cliché as it sounds, I wanted to see Harry live and get married as I hoped J. K. Rowling would take the opportunity to infuse hope into her readers, showing that evil can be defeated and happiness can be obtained. Now I will see those same scenes play out on the big screen and I cannot wait!

With all that J. K. Rowling has had to struggle through in her life, I'm glad to see her happy and her fans so loyal and supportive of her. And as for me, as I struggle and get up early to finish my latest novel, I think about J. K. Rowling and all that she’s been through and that gives me hope. Hope that if we believe in our dreams we can overcome the challenges and obstacles in our path. And hope that an imaginative story about a boy wizard and his friends has helped bring people together from all around the world.

It’s been an amazing adventure. Thank you, J. K. Rowling, for never giving up on your dream and sharing that with us. Thank you.

Do you struggle with doing evil?

Each day we go about our business, living in our own little shells often disconnected from the rest of the world. Yet last night I went by myself to see Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life and with the rest of the audience shared in an amazing experience. In a nutshell, Malick basically sets up the following premise for his film: "There are two ways through life: the way of nature, and the way of Grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow."

In the more than 2 plus hours of film that sprawled before me, Malick took me on a journey that comprised the creation of the universe through the forming of life on Earth to a man's struggle with his inner impulses/desires and his longing for grace--to be good.

How can such an ambitious film be perfect and error free? It can't. The film is filled with jarring flaws and, at the same time, such immense beauty of life's most intimate moments of innocence that I was surprised at the beauty that Malick captured.

When we go through life, do we struggle to do good or evil? Some days we're oblivious to this struggle while others we're entrenched in it.

What I found so appealing of this film were the scenes with Brad Pitt and his eldest son--the struggle for the father to impose his will and way of life on his son in the hope that his child will be better off than he--that if he could just force his son to follow his path, without faltering, that all would be okay. Whereas Jessica Chastain's character is the graceful mother who plays, laughs and showers her unconditional love on her three sons.

The conflict splitting the film in two opens the film: The youngest son dies and the film is told in a non-linear style as Malick floats us back to the beginning of time a la 2011: A Space Odyssey returning back to the 1950s when the eldest boy loses his innocence and begins to fight against himself. Having a brother and being the eldest, I could identify with the scenes in which the oldest brother tries to test/torture his youngest brother. In one scene, the eldest brother is holding a lamp, like a gun as the bulb is out, and he tells his youngest brother to stick his finger in the hole. Flashforward to Sean Penn, playing the eldest brother in the future as he is reflecting back on the anniversary of his youngest brother's death.

The complex story of The Tree of Life is so simplistic yet rambling over billions of year--all within the 2 hour and 18 minutes of screen time. The most moving scenes for me were the juxtapositions between the beautiful CGI scenes of the creation of the universe with the eldest brother's voice over: "Why did you let a boy die? Where were you?"

How often have we struggled in our darkest moments and questioned God or a higher spirit as to why something bad happened to us? We are interconnected--not with the rest of our family, but with all of creation and Malick's showing that on screen might come off heavy handed, but I guarantee that you have never seen anything on film so beautiful and intimate that will inspire and confound you.

I walked out of the theater listening to the three teenage girls who were in the audience, laughing at what they had seen, knowing better. For I am a father and they, childless, young and still full of innocence, have yet to face their dark fears. That is yet to come for them. They have not had the fights that Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain have as husband and wife nor have they held their child in their arms. Because when I drove home last night, my greatest desire was to rush home and go into the rooms of each of my children and to touch them of the forehead. To watch them as they slept and to pray over them, that with all my imperfections, all my desires for evil, lust, anger and fear--that my children will grow and thrive to be strong branches of the tree of life beyond their mother and I. Beyond today, stretching out into the future so that they and their children could be happy. And when I did come home, I did just that. I saw my children and watched over them.

The words, of the mother, stuck in my head as I watched my children sleeping last night--their innocence still on their faces: "The only way to be happy is to love. Unless you love, your life will flash by."

I'm heavy today of mind and spirit as there was a lot to take in with this film. A lot. This is a powerful film--definitely not perfect, but there are some gems in the rough. But in the end, you'll get out of this film what you put in it. I recommend being open and let it go. Try not to make sense of everything because life sure as hell doesn't sometimes. Just let go. It's an amazing ride.

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Melancholic. My one word summation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Blended with darkness from the beginning through to the end, the seventh movie in the Harry Potter franchise is a mixture of sadness and disappointment. If you've not seen any of the previous Harry Potter films, I'd recommend that you stay away from this movie as you'll be lost in the deepest and most complex of films. You will be a muggle, running through the maze of life, unaware and blind to the lexicon of Rowling's most magnificent world.

When I had learned that the last film would be split into two, I had concerns as I knew that the ending of the first film would leave me wanting more. There is no happy break in Part 1 as our heroes are up against a foe who appears to be unstoppable.

Long gone are the innocent days of Harry, Hermoine and Ron exploring the deep secrets of Hogwarts. They are grown up now and the pain they experience in this film shatters any illusions we still might have that they are children and naïve.

At one point in the film the trio are in a coffee shop: Ron holds his wand over a defeated Death Eater and questions whether he should kill him. Our heroes are adults now and the suffering they must endure forces them to make some difficult choices.

What I have thoroughly enjoyed about Rowling's books is the characters' development over time. There is a deep shift and change in The Goblet of Fire that culminates in the final volume. Harry Potter is on the hero's quest as are Ron and Hermoine, struggling toward adulthood. And as Voldemort's forces slowly close in around them, they come up against their own inner demons, causing them to doubt that they have the strength to continue.

I enjoyed the film, but the split set me up for a disappointment as I was left in the throes of despair, trying to remember all the details of the seventh book as it has been years since I last read it. Who survives and who lives is a blur in my memory and I kept wondering how the movie would end. The final scene is disturbing and July 15th is a long way off. But what worked and what didn't in this film?

The pacing is off, as their quest is convoluted and disjointed. Trying to get straight how many horcruxes they have to find and who they need to talk to easily became a problem for me as much of the movie has them jaunting from place to place seemingly unable to find any answers. Existing on its own, this film does not work as there are too many dense parts that require you to have direct knowledge of Rowling's so richly created world. I can accept that, but I was still disappointed in how the movie ended. I wanted to see more, but that won't happen until next summer. To ease off the director, I will say this: So much takes places in the seventh book that trying to film it into one movie was not possible. I can understand why the movie was made into two. I truly can.

Structure and plot aside, I enjoyed seeing the weaknesses in the main characters. They are tried, unsure of their way and being hunted. They have no safe place to go and even Hermoine's "thinking of everything" does not save them in the end. They experience death, losing a friend. The magic of this movie, outside of the amazing special effects is the interaction among Ron, Hermoine and Harry. The three are tested and their friendship is tainted and bruised. After Ron leaves Hermoine and Harry in a fit of jealousy and anger, there is a quiet scene that I enjoyed. Harry can see how hurt Hermoine is and he turns on the radio, takes her hand and dances with her. They dance as awkward teenagers do, but their smiles become genuine as Harry shows her that in the face of death and despair, they must go on. They dance and Harry's friendship lights up her face until the dance is over and Hermoine realizes that she is alone again. Her Ron has abandoned her.

Other subtle moments on screen drew me into the film. A quiet moment in which Harry takes Hermoine's hand and she leans her head on his shoulder. Together they face the impossible, choosing to rely on each other, their friendship and love. Later in the film, Ron is tempted with his most secret fear: That Hermoine loves Harry. Voldemort's preying on Ron's weakness leaves nothing to the imagination and we are once again reminded that these three are no longer children. They are adults and maybe that is why a feeling of melancholy has washed over me since seeing the film. As we enter adulthood, we leave behind our innocence and purity, becoming jaded and less trusting in make believe. That loss of innocence is so prevalent in today's society and, for a moment, I sit back and am somewhat comforted that myths, stories and films can still transport us back to a time of wonderment. If only more could see the magic....

Tangled: Disney Movie Review

My son and I went to an advance screening of the Disney movie Tangled tonight in Cherry Hill, NJ at the AMC Loews theater.

We arrived at the theater 20 minutes before the show started and there were about 200 people waiting in line before us. While there, a friendly Disney rep gave us our tickets and said, "Did you get your glasses?" I looked confused and he went on to say that the movie was in 3D and that staff were supposed to be handing out glasses. My son's face dropped and we did get the glasses but my son refused to wear them. He hates 3D movies.

Two points before I go on to review the film:

I never thought that the 3D really made a difference in the film. I wear glasses (no contacts for me) so I had to wear my 3D glasses on top of my normal pair. Definitely, not comfortable and as the 3D didn't really make an impact on me, I'd say it was a waste of time. However, I didn't expect this next one to happen: About 2/3 of the way through the movie, a bug landed on the projector and started crawling around, making the bug look really odd walking around the big screen. When I took my 3D glasses off, the bug turned into a big black blur that kept moving around the screen. Off and on for a good 30 minutes the bug kept flying around the screen. Annoying.

But what about the movie? I really enjoyed it as did my son. My main complaint: Drop the songs. There was no need to have several songs crammed into the film. Outside of the "I've Got a Dream" number (which was funny), the rest of the songs were forgetful.

I enjoyed watching the retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale unfold on screen as it was modernized to have the heroine be strong and full of spunk. Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, is well written and lively. She's determined, creative and expressive of her feelings, hoping to discover the world around her. The themes of loneliness, honesty, love and discovery of one's own power is effectively woven throughout the movie. I cared about the characters and enjoyed seeing them on their journey. The 3D and songs distracted from my moviegoing experience, but Disney has a hit on their hands.

Little girls will do well to look up to Rapunzel, questioning their lives and asking themselves: "What do I want in life?" Granted, the movie solves all of life's problems in a very Disneyesque fashion. Disney execs have no excuse for such cleancut endings. They've supported Hayao Miyazaki's fims here in the States and any watching of Spirited Away will clearly show the more mature themes employed in Japanese film making. Disney is learning but not fast enough.

I had fun with watching Tangled but even at its most darkest moment the film lacked the emotional punch of Up or WALL-E. I prefer those two films to Tangled, but that's my personal preference. Your kids will like this film. It's well made, has a great message and isn't too scary for the little ones. There are several scenes of violence and a frightful witch-like mother figure, but nothing too intense.

You can't go wrong on seeing this film as it's an enjoyable ride. I only wish Disney would allow their films to mature a bit and learn from Pixar and Miyazaki.