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The Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano has entered the moral discussion surrounding the controversial message of the Harry Potter films. The newspaper has offered a positive review of the saga’s last installment, which will open worldwide this weekend.
The new film is the last in the series of movies based on the seven-volume fantasy novel written by J.K. Rowling.
L’Osservatore Romano reporter Gaetano Vallini writes in his piece, “The finale is epic, with a battle worthy of this saga of unequaled planetary success. The decisive meeting between the forces of good and evil is truly the final one, played out in an atmosphere that is almost too dark.”
“Fans of the saga already know everything: for them, the challenge is to compare how faithful the film is to the book. So far, they haven’t complained and we believe they will not have reason to with this film either."
Nevertheless, Vallini warns, “The atmosphere of the last few episodes which had become increasingly dark and ominous, reaches its pinnacle in this last film with Hogwarts reduced to smoldering rubble. This may not sit well with all moviegoers, as occurred with the previous film, and could make the youngest among the audience uneasy.
“Death, which before was a rare occurrence, here is a protagonist. This violence may not be welcomed or suitable for everyone.”
“In the final encounter there is much bloodshed and death: wizards large and not so large, expert and not-so-expert professors. Because of this increasingly violent nature, the film may not be pleasing or adaptable for everyone.”
Vallini argues nonetheless that “evil is never presented as fascinating or attractive in the saga, but the values of friendship and of sacrifice are highlighted. In a unique and long story of formation, through painful passages of dealing with death and loss, the hero and his companions mature from the lightheartedness of infancy to the complex reality of adulthood.”
“And thus it ends,” Vallini writes. “And for some, especially those who never liked the saga, it will be a sort of liberation.”
