The Golden Compass
The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on the 1995 book Northern Lights (which is titled “The Golden Compass” in North America), the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green and Ian McKellen. The project was announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the script and the selection of a director caused significant delays. At US$180 million, it was one of New Line Cinema’s most expensive projects ever,[2] and its disappointing results in the US contributed to New Line’s February 2008 restructuring.[3]
The film depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan living in a parallel universe where a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry. Children in that universe are being kidnapped by an unknown group called the Gobblers who are supported by the Magisterium. Lyra joins a tribe of seafarers on a trip to the far North, the land of the armoured polar bears, in search of the missing children.
Before its release, the film received criticism from many quarters, chiefly secularist organisations, for the omitting of criticisms of religions: this is the central theme of His Dark Materials. Some religious organisations also cited for the source material’s anti-religious themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a “terrible” experience.[4] Although the film’s visual effects (which Weitz has called the film’s “most successful element”) won both a Oscar and a BAFTA, critical reception of the film was mixed and its revenue was lower than the studio had anticipated.
In an alternate Earth, a powerful church called the Magisterium strictly controls the populace’s beliefs and teachings. In this world, every person’s inner spirit partially exists outside the body, manifesting itself as an animal companion called a dæmon. The dæmon communicates with the person and must remain in close physical proximity. Witches, however, have bird-shape dæmons that are able to travel long distances from their bodies.
Lyra Belacqua, whose dæmon is named Pantalaimon or “Pan”, is an orphan being raised at Jordan College in Oxford. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, a noted explorer and scholar, has been absent seeking the elusive Dust, a cosmic particle that the Magisterium forbids to be mentioned. When Asriel returns to Oxford, Lyra saves his life after seeing a visiting Magisterium agent spike his wine with an unidentified poison. Asriel later gives a presentation to other scholars regarding his discovery that Dust existing in the North Pole links infinite worlds. Asriel receives a grant for another expedition. If his theory is proven, it could severely undermine the Magisterium’s control.
