HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX<

Directed by David Yates

There's a scene in HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, where Harry is looking into a mirror and he sees a portrait of himself as a young boy with his murdered parents. It was probably the most shocking image in the film, not for its narrative or visuals, but for the fact that Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Harry, was just a wee kid when the first HP film came out, and he's now a young man. It was both alarming and revealing to see that so much time has passed since the Harry Potter books and films have come out, and it was a reminder that we as an audience have grown up with this boy, this school, this wonderful world that J.K. Rowling has so lovingly concocted.

Given this, in the latest installment of the Harry Potter films, there's a decided lack of wonderment with Hogwarts. Many critics have pointed this out as a flaw, that they no longer had the sense of enchantment, that the world of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic seemed flat and rather ordinary. But the fact of the matter is that we have been with these books since 1997 and the films since 2000, and so therefore we are familiar with Hogwarts, we comprehend the magic, we know these characters well. There is little sense of discovery about this world, because there is little left to discover. Both the film and the book acknowledge this, and they both make the correct move in delving entirely into character and plot development. The magic is over, and now life in this world can truly begin.

As is tradition, we begin the film with Harry in the world of non-magical humans, the Muggles. He is surly and moody- a typical teenager no less- and he is jolted from his dreary summer when he is attacked by Dementors, the wraith-like specters that guard the prisons at Azkaban. The very tone of this impressive and taut opening sequence tells us that the dream life has ended- rules of children and legislation are no longer applying here, and we're going into dark, murky territory.

Harry is whisked off to a magic safe house owned by his godfather Sirius Black (the always-reliable Gary Oldman), and Harry learns that corruption and fear mongering has beset the governance of the world of magic, and that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, aka Lord Voldemort, is actively recruiting an army of dark wizards, whose ultimate intent is to push the world into ruin.

Harry heads off to Hogwarts with much on his mind, and he increasingly isolates himself, buckling under the burdens that have been placed upon him. He is greeted by a new Defense of the Dark Arts professor, Dolores Umbridge (an amazing Imelda Staunton), who is also a representative of the Ministry of Magic. Umbridge bgins a cold and calculated overhaul of Hogwarts, turning it into a place of draconian rule, governed by fear, and controlled by torture and punishment.

It's quite clear what Rowling and Yates are aiming for, as this is a thinly-veiled allegory to the governance of the United States and United Kingdom, where the press is a tool of a corrupted government, and information is the most powerful weapon of change. Throughout the film there are allusions to underground insurgencies, social upheaval, and revolution. There is talk of people's armies, of Orwellian law, and abused authority. All of which has very little to do with magic, but it remains intriguing because these are issues of the human psyche, and to place it within a world where magic and mysterious creature are an afterthought serves to hammer down the point with great force and effect.

For a children's / young adult film, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX is a refreshingly political film, one that can be digested without feeling like they've been pandered to. Yates has proven to be a capable director of actors, but admittedly, his grasp of visuals are not up to the gargantuan standards that the series has set. The film is entrenched in darkness, which is appropriate for the subject matter- Dolores Umbridge has turned Hogwarts into a prison, a dungeon where no fun or exploration can exist. The only scene of joy is a scene of rebellion, marked with impressive fireworks and the laughter of children.

Truth be told, it's lack of visual punch aside, I felt this was the best of the Harry Potter films, and should I venture down this route, I regarded it as the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of the series. This is because of the human element of the film, the realization that the evil of the dark side is prevalent and very, very real, that sometimes the enemy may very well be our neighbours, and worse yet, ourselves. I have bought into this world of magic completely, and for the first time I could relate, on a very personal level, to the trials and tribulations of the characters within.

Credit for this goes to the actors, who have all matured from pantomime to real dramatic thespians. Particularly strong is the work of Radcliffe, who by now must be so familiar with Harry Potter that he is reacting instinctively as the character. I'm sure these kids have also benefit from working with some of the finest actors in the world in Oldman, Staunton, and the truly remarkable talents of Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Ralph Fiennes. Collectively, the cast has successfully populated Hogwarts with real people, and not sketches of characters from a book.

I simply adore this series, its characters, its creatures, and its settings. Even at its darkest, Rowling's sprawling masterpiece of a boy wizard learning to deal with responsibilities of power is something that always lights a fire within my heart. She and her collaborators have managed to capture the true moments of wonderment, joy and pain that growing up entails. Perhaps it is this universal appeal that has made Harry Potter such an icon of the young and the old. Generations from now we will look back upon this body of work and it will have stood the test of time, because its sentiments and heart are timeless.

We can only strive to create such work, and in the meantime we stand in its awe and take from it pleasures and joys that have indescribable value.