During the Chinese New Year vacation, I had the opportunity to watch Alfonso Cuaron's 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' again. Though it is only a sequel in the series, 'Azkaban' is considered as one of the greatest of the whole Harry Potter series, especially for the film version. That should not be surprising given that the film was made by a filmmaker who would eventually offer us films like 'Gravity', 'Children of Men', and 'Roma', one of this year's strongest Oscar contenders. While being faithful to J.K. Rowling's imaginative visions, Alfonso Cuaron has also contributed his own interpretations of the story. The film has a darker tone than the other episodes in the series. Indeed, the worldview in 'Azkaban' is quite amoral and complex, not that black and white when comparing to the other kids' films. To me, 'Azkaban' resembles something like a film noir - the characters are complex, and their appearences often conceal their true motivations. Even Harry Potter is portrayed as an angry teenager here - he is really confused about who can be friends and who cannot, and his mind is consumed by hate and a desire for revenge. At the end he will appreciate that looks can be deceiving and he will know how to treasure those who really cares about him. Rowling and Cuaron should really be commended for giving such a subliminal lesson to kids about the complexity of the real world they will soon face - after all, life is not that black-and-white. One thing is clear though - we still have many great reasons to hate a crybaby like Draco Malfoy!
I feel the reason why 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' is considered a high point in the franchise is because the film is so grounded in reality. While Harry Potter is a fantasy story about wizards and all kinds of monstrous creatures, Cuaron has expressed his commitment to make this episode of 'Harry Potter' a physical one - he wants his audience to experience a very concrete presence of these imaginary characters, and emphasizes a cinematic realism often found in the Classic Cinema. That is why I maintain that Cuaron's vision on this fantsay epic resembles something like a Film Noir. The style of the film is very expressionistic, and Cuaron has instilled a moody atomsphere throughout the film - the darkness of night, the corridors, the storm during the Quidditch, the edgy walk through the mountainous areas, and the various sound that emerges from the night. He has successfully instilled a cloud of uncertainty through the film, because many of the characters are conflicted and they are finding their own position throughout the spectrum of good and evil. Of course, there are many signature approaches from Cuaron. The very elaborate tracking shots can delineate the actions of the characters and guarantee a physical feel for the audience. As if the flying action from the wizardy is not enough, Cuaron has used a lot of upward and downward zooms to give the audience a sense of disorientation, which suits the content of the film very well. Many of the extreme long shots from the film not only provides a breathtaking view of the environment, that also gives a sense of helplessness to the characters. And then there is the various uses of the long take - also very evident in 'Children of Men' and 'Gravity'. An impressive scene is when the trio falls into the trap in the tree house. Rather than using many fast cuts to portray the erratic movements of the 'merry go round' around the branches of the tree, Cuaron instead adopted a well-executed long take. That takes the audience into the scene as it unfolds in a very dynamic way. The scene also reminds us of a great sequence in 'Gravity', when Sandra Bullock's character was thrown around in space when a component of the spaceship malfunctioned.
The commitment to realism also extends to the personality of the characters. Harry has learnt about the difference between appearance and truth, and how to assert of a sense of righteousness amidst a complex and amoral world. All before that, Harry has to experience darkness and confront his fear as the hunted one. It is noteworthy that Cuaron has selected a number of great actors who has played iconic bad guys and underdogs in cinema. Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, and David Thewlis - they are all underrated actors that have provided an edge to the more morally ambiguous characters in 'Azkaban'. The most ironic thing about the story, as it will become more evident in the later part of the series, is that appearances can often mislead one's opinion on an issue. It turns out that the frightening, eccentric, and apparently crazy ones are those who really have contributed to the well being of Hogwarts at the end of the day. By contrast, those who make painstaking efforts to make themselves look great are often self-congratulatory and only crave for power and control of others. Even if guys like Prof. Snape, Sirius Black, Prof. Lupin etc. are a bit weird, they all had their past and leading to their personal outlooks and characters. In a sense, that is the way you come to terms with the trauma and negative experience and then move on. The brilliance of 'Azkaban' is that it is a fantasy film that sheds light about our world.
by Ed Law
Film Analysis
