Harry Potter Film Brings Reality Into the Fantasy

When the first Harry Potter film debuted, my son and Harry were the same age, struggling with the issues of 13-year-old boys in making new friends and playing sports. In the latest film, events occur outside of Hogwarts School as evil wizards called deatheaters cause the deaths of people in London.

In this film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the lives of the now teenage wizards mirror those of their contemporaries in the real world as youngsters drink butterbeer to celebrate and down spirits to recover from the effects of a potion.

The Potter films are becoming grim reminders of life's threats as the years go by, and the battles Harry has to fight against the Dark Lord are now part of a full-blown war as Voldemort seeks to regain his power at any cost.

My son had been dubious about seeing yet another Potter film, but once he began watching it, I think he related so well to the characters that he enjoyed it as much as he did as a child. The first film opened on his birthday in 2001, and the later films used to come out every year about the same time as his birthday. It was a tradition for us to see them for the first four years. We missed the fifth year.

Now in the sixth film, Harry is on the brink of adulthood. The next film will take place outside of Hogwarts completely as Harry begins a quest with his friends to find the magical items that will stop Voldemort from his evil plan.

I was amused today when I opened up The New York Times and discovered a story about parents' concerns about the frequent imbibing of liquor in the latest Potter film. Strangely, no one brought up other issues, like the prevalence of violence and murders. Someone might even have noted the risk of premarital sex between the characters, with all of the crushes and frisky necking going on -- even the use of a love potion that is the wizard equivalent of a date rape drug.

The last film seemed far less magical to me than the past ones. While the screenplay delivered, it left me with the feeling that the next film will have the answers, as the characters continue to search for their roles in the world and attempt to find the right answers after losing the most influential leader in their lives in a martyrdom ending.

This story also had some derivative elements that gave it more of a brooding Lord of the Rings flavor than the charm of previous Potter movies. I guess now that Harry has grown up, the innocence of those days are gone, even on film. I miss them.