To better learn English, after watching English movies with English subtitles for over a year, I decided to further challenge myself by not using subtitles. To lower the difficulty, I chose a children's movie, and since I had previously read the corresponding original English version, it wouldn't affect the viewing experience too much. I had just watched a few of The Chronicles of Narnia novels, so I chose the adapted movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
This movie lasts 150 minutes, and fortunately, there isn't too much dialogue. The main characters are children, and they don't speak too quickly. Although there were parts of the dialogue that I completely didn't understand, I could still roughly guess the content based on the scenes and the novels I had read before. The movie is basically faithful to the original work, with good makeup, sound effects, and visual effects. It won the Oscar for Best Makeup and received nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Mixing.
Since the original work is aimed at children, the plot is relatively simple, but it contains many religious symbolic meanings. Due to my limited understanding of Christianity, the most clear symbolism I could see was that of resurrection.
This fantasy movie has some scenes that remind me of movies like Harry Potter, Frozen, and The Lord of the Rings. These films all express the importance of cherishing the feelings and trust between family and friends, facing difficulties bravely, and having a firm belief.
The four main child characters feel less impressive compared to those in the Harry Potter movies, and their acting still has room for improvement. The standout supporting characters are the actors playing the Faun and the White Witch, who portrayed the fantastical elements of the fairy tale world, leaving a deep impression.
The Chronicles of Narnia series consists of seven books, and I have finished two of them. So far, only three movies have been made, and the other two are said to be not as good as the first one. I plan to finish reading the English novels and watching the subtitle-free movies in the next two years, and later consider revisiting the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings series in English novels, trying subtitle-free movies.