The fifth Harry Potter film is dark, sombre and scary. It features a violent beating and a tragic death. The boy wizard himself experiences loneliness, paranoia and even madness. Folks, make no mistake this isn't a kid's movie.
In fact, the biggest theme here is political repression something that queer adults may understand a whole lot better than the kids. Something that may echo quite strongly with Singaporean viewers.
The film even begins melancholically. Harry is sitting on a swing all alone, contemplating his fate, when dark clouds start to gather above. Not before long, he is being chased by the creepy Dementors, long grey creatures that look like flying Grim Reapers. Harry manages to save himself, but he is hurled into court for "illegal use of magic".
When Harry returns to Hogwarts School, he finds the school has a new teacher (the extraordinary actress Imelda Staunton) who's been sent from the Ministry of Magic to keep an eye on things. She quickly turns into Stalin-like dictator, as the movie takes on tones of George Orwell's political satire 1984.
Gone are childish tickling, cute group hugs and fun Quidditch games from previous films. Instead, we have power struggles, political factions and media manipulation. Oddly, its strong political slant makes the movie very appealing to adult viewers. While some genuinely frightening sequences make the film almost unsuitable for kids under the age of 10.
Harry's certainly grown up. And so has his movies. For adult viewers, that might make Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the best in the series so far.
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