To improve my English, after watching English movies with English subtitles for over a year, I decided to take the next step and watch without subtitles. To make it easier, I chose a children's movie, and since I'd already read the original English version of the book, it wouldn't affect my viewing experience too much. I'd recently finished reading a few of The Chronicles of Narnia novels, so I picked the film adaptation, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The movie runs 150 minutes, but thankfully the dialogue isn't overwhelming. Since the main characters are children, they speak at a manageable pace. While I completely missed some of the dialogs, I could generally guess the meaning by combining context clues with my prior knowledge of the novel. The movie stays largely faithful to the novel. The makeup, sound effects, and visual effects are all quite good—it won an Oscar for Best Makeup and received nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Mixing.
As the novel is aimed at children, the plot is relatively simple yet rich in religious symbolism. With my limited understanding of Christianity, the most evident symbolism was that of resurrection.
Certain elements of this fantasy movie reminded me of movies like Harry Potter, Frozen, and The Lord of the Rings. These movies all convey themes of cherishing the bonds and trust between family and friends, facing difficulties with courage, and maintaining steadfast faith.
Compared to the Harry Potter movies, the four child protagonists here feel less memorable, and their acting still has room for improvement. The standout supporting roles are the actor and the actress portraying the Faun and the White Witch, whose performances captured the fantastical essence of the fairy-tale world and left a deep impression.
The Chronicles of Narnia series comprises seven novels. I've finished two so far, while only three movies have been adapted thus far. The other two adaptations reportedly fall short of the first movie's quality. My plan is to complete both the English novels and the subtitle-free films within the next couple of years. Afterward, I might re-reading the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series in English and attempting their subtitle-free film versions.