PHOTO BY MURRAY CLOSE

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes,
William Moseley, Anna Popplewell and Ben Barnes.
Directed by Andrew Adamson. 140 mins. Rated PG (mild fantasy violence, some scenes may upset young children).

One year after the incredible events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has passed, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy.

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are magically transported back from World War II London to Narnia, and here they meet Narnia’s rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. The Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and Caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Aslan, rescue Narnia from Miraz’s tyrannical hold, and restore magic and glory to the land.

Author C.S. Lewis rejected the commentary that the Narnia series was a Christian allegory. However, he did concede that the Narnia series was “suppositional”. In his own words: “Let us suppose that reality contained different parallel worlds, and that in one of them the Son of God, as He became Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.”

In Prince Caspian the supposition we explore is the nature of faith: faith in a God we cannot see, faith in those we can see, converting to new faith and discarding faith that is rotten to the core.

The values of the film are also first rate. The recurring theme of “things never happen the same way twice” means, in context, that the way Aslan saved Narnia in the first incarnation will not occur again. Indeed more profoundly this time, Peter, Susan, Lucy, Edmund and Caspian have to trust each other, reflect on what they learnt from their experiences last time and hold to faith in Aslan in the face of insurmountable odds. Aslan is with them always, able to be called upon, but is more hidden; except to Lucy, the youngest, purest and often wisest of the quintet. Aslan is preparing our pilgrims for a leadership that counts: in discerning, forgiving, and being just and courageous when confronting evil.