narnia

Timothy and I went to see Prince Caspian Friday night after Switch. (10:40 PM in LITH)

I'm not a C.S. Lewis purist. I only ever read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I can't make the kind of scathing critique that others may have to offer. Suffice to say I liked it.

Well, I liked it until the end.

So far, both of the Narnia movies have left me a little depressed. After this stunning adventure we always end up back in England. It's like ending on a Monday every time. Eugh.

The rest of it I liked.

They did a good job, again, of representing Christ in Aslan. You don't see him very much in this movie, but the promise of his coming is always at hand.

At one point, the youngest, Lucy, thinks she sees him in the forest and tries to convince the others that Aslan wants them to follow him. They don't listen because they didn't see him for themselves. Toward the end, Lucy finally finds him and explains that she knew he was there, but the other's didn't believe her. To which Aslan replies, "Why would that stop you from coming to me?"

My favorite part was the end. Aslan doesn't really show up until the crucial moment. Most of the time, the main characters have to fight some pretty ugly battles on their own. One mistake leads to a really devastating end, and all the time the Narnians who weren't around 1300 years ago are doubting whether Aslan will come back to help them at all.

The three older siblings (who are doing the actual warring) and Prince Caspian don't meet Aslan until the whole thing is over. They haven't said a word to him, but at the end of the final battle, they all walk up to him and simply kneel.

I think I held my breath when it happened. And maybe I'm doing that thing where I get too wrapped up in movies, or maybe this is still working through me, but that was a wonderfully symbolic moment.

That was the moment when you've fought the good fight, when having done all, you stood. That was the moment you came through to victory at the hand of last-minute grace. It was the moment when you're not only exhausted, but emotionally wounded, when accusations start flying through your mind. "Where have You been? Didn't You see? Didn't You know? Why didn't you come sooner? So many died and you didn't come. We fought and we fought and You didn't come!"

But if your heart is right it's also the moment when you realize that despite your best efforts you would have lost in the end had He not come. It's also the moment when you remember that if He delayed, He delayed for a reason. That no matter what it looks like, He's always right. And despite the accusations, and despite your hurting heart, you kneel because He is the good King.