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FILMS UK / USA

Harry Potter: The end begins

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Despite its title, whose esoteric meaning is clear as a bell to the readers of J.K. Rowling, the new Harry Potter film takes about 120 of its 146 minutes to reveal to audiences what the deathly hallows actually are. Then, not even half an hour later, the film ends, leaving the door wide open for the second part of the diptych. Because in order to double the box office, Warner Brothers thought to double the last instalment of the saga, with the risk, however, of increasing the frustration factor of each film.

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Cinematically speaking, how then to take David YatesHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 [+see also:
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? One has the impression it is the second “longest linking sequence in the history of film” (to borrow Paolo Mereghetti’s phrase, coined for the even longer Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers).

Yet whereas the Tolkien cycle was wrapped up in trilogy, the Muggles and magicians will be laid to rest next July end film number eight of the series. That’s too many, especially for less devoted filmgoers, and especially since in this (pen)ultimate chapter the only characters left in the film – besides the fight of Good against the evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) – are Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Grager (Emma Watson). The stellar supporting cast that made the previous films has all but disappeared (Brendan Gleeson and Imelda Staunton appear briefly), and there are few lest the ensemble cast that in the past successfully drew in even those viewers less inclined towards fantasy.

Luckily, at times the film finds the magic of its roots (the legend of the deathly hallows is told in a long sequence that feels like a nod to the silhouette animation of Lotte Reineger and Michel Ocelot). More often, however, one has the feeling watching a saga meant only for “followers”, of which there are very many. According to an IMDB poll of site users and visitors, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the second most anticipated film of 2010, following Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

Produced by the UK’s Heyday Films with Warner Bros. Pictures, the film will be released from November 17-19 worldwide, distributed almost everywhere by Warner.

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(Translated from Italian)

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