Weitz, C. (Director). (Released April 29, 2008). The Golden Compass. [Motion picture]. United States: New Line Cinema.
· Plot Summary
Lyra Belacqua lives in Oxford, but in an alternate version of the world where people's souls live outside their bodies in the forms of animals known as daemons. As children, these souls are constantly changing their animal forms from one to another, and stabilization only happens upon the reaching of adulthood. Lyra is an orphan, but her uncle (Lord Asriel), a visiting professor at the organization known as the Magisterium, has come to present startling evidence as to the existence of a substance known as Dust. When the college agrees to fund an expedition in search of the substance, Lyra is given permission to accompany the beautiful Mrs.Coulter, as her assistant. Lyra is giving the last remaining device known as an alethoimeter, which in the hands of a trained reader, can provide the answer to any question. Unbeknownst to Lyra, Mrs.Coulter is in league with the Gobblers, a group of individuals that are kidnapping children in order to run experiments in the hopes of separating the children from their daemons. Lyra escapes from Mrs.Coulter, but must now rescue her uncle before the Magisterium officials can complete their plans, and kill him. With the assistance of her best friend, an armored polar bear (Lorek Byrnison), an aeronaut (Lee Scoresby), a witch (Serafina Pekkala), and a group known as the Gyptians, Lyra manages to infiltrate the lab where the children are being held, and destroy the separation machine. The children are returned to their families, and Lyra has learned that Mrs. Coulter and Asriel are her parents, but she must now go save her father from the people still assisting her mother.
· Critical Evaluation
An interesting interpretation of the nature of humanity, and the idea of the human soul. The Magisterium is a hierarchal organization that is modeled after the Catholic Church, although it is unlikely that most tweens would immediately make the connection. Having the soul in the form of animals is a key concept.
· Reader’s Annotation
The director considered this film to be a watered-down adaptation, and the last three chapters from the novel are removed from this film version to be used instead in the next film. The obvious correlations between the Church and the Magisterium caused some amount of controversy when the film was being made, but Nicole Kidman (one of the film's stars) is a follower of the Catholic religion and chose to take a starring role when offered.
· Booktalking Ideas
Hierarchal organizations and their influence on history and people.
Worldwide views on the soul.
The role of animals in literature.
· Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 7-9/Ages 12-14
· Challenge Issues
As shown above, issues surrounding the novel also followed the motion picture when it was being created. The abuse of power by a hierarchy and the rejection of religion that be said to result, are two controversial topics. As with many other fantasy productions, it may be pointed out that this is a work of fiction, and not meant to convey any special or hidden meaning to the viewer.
· Why did you include this book in the titles you selected?
From the reviews I saw when the movie came out, it looked visually stunning. The characters appeared to be out of the norm, and Lyra stood out as a positive role model for this age group.
