Vatican paper says 'Golden Compass' lacks hope, leaves viewer cold

Published: 2007-12-18

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican newspaper criticized the movie "The Golden Compass," saying the film depicts a fantasy world that is without emotion, without hope and without love. In that sense, the movie reflects the anti-Christian ideology of Philip Pullman, the author of the book on which the movie is based, the newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, said in a review Dec. 18. "It's a film that leaves one cold, because it brings with it the coldness and the desperation of rebellion, solitude and individualism," the newspaper said. "In the world of Pullman, hope simply doesn't exist, in part because there is no salvation but only personal, individualistic capacity to control the situation and dominate events," it said. The movie has provoked controversy in the United States. Some Christian critics have said the film is anti-religious, for example, in its depiction of a pseudo-religious dictatorship known as the "Magisterium." Others have said that even if the film is not explicitly anti-Christian, it may lead young people to read Pullman's books and be exposed to his openly atheistic agenda.

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