HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1 (2010) Movie Review
Dumbledore is gone, and all is dark in the world of wizards. Harry and his entourage continue their desperate search for the Horcruxes (objects that hide pieces of his soul) in order to kill Voldemort who gets more powerful daily. His Death Eaters take over the ministry and Hogwarts.
In the meantime, Harry Potter is the world’s only hope, the Chosen One. He departs on a long, lonely journey and finds the weapon that can destroy the Horcrux. Once all seven Horcruxes are destroyed Voldemort can be susceptible to death, and Harry Potter can destroy him.
In the story of the Three Brothers, Death is personified as the enemy, a collector of souls at any cost. He tricks the two of the three brothers into death by exploiting their selfish desires. However, the third brother who is described as a humble man chooses his gift wisely escaping death’s trickery and dies a natural death. In his old age he greets Death as an old friend and willingly departs from this world.
Voldemort fears death more than he fears his enemies. He fears is enough to attempt many challenges to prolong his life, including ripping apart his own soul. He values his life above his soul. Meanwhile, everyone around him (Harry Potter, Harry’s parents, Dumbledore, Dobbie) freely sacrifice their lives for the protection of another. Their love for others conquers their fear of death and they embrace death freely.
Accepting our own mortality is an important step to achieving the salvation of our souls. While our bodies eventually die, our souls continue living. Salvation of the soul should matter more than death of the body. Voldemort does not understand that. He focuses too much on his physical life at the expense of his own soul. He literally rips apart his soul to achieve eternal life in the wrong places.
In Part II we shall see whether or not his plan works. If Harry Potter succeeds in his mission, Voldemort’s body will die, and he won’t have a soul to continue living. He’ll have nothing after death.
