The Golden Compass (2007)
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A young girl must journey to the far North to rescue children kidnapped by a mysterious group.
The story
On an alternate Earth, the Magisterium controls people's beliefs while every person's soul exists as an animal companion called a dæmon. Lyra Belacqua, an orphan at Jordan College, is accompanied by her dæmon Pantalaimon. When her friends are abducted by a group known as the Gobblers, Lyra joins a group of Gyptians and a daring aeronaut to travel to the North. Along the way, she carries a mysterious device called an alethiometer that reveals the truth. The journey takes her through dangerous lands to find the kidnapped children and uncover the secrets of the Magisterium's control.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
On an alternate Earth, the Magisterium controls people's beliefs, and every person's soul exists as a dæmon. Lyra Belacqua, an orphan with her dæmon Pantalaimon, is entrusted with an alethiometer by the Master of Jordan College. When her friends are kidnapped by the Gobblers, Lyra joins a Gyptian army and a team including a bear named Iorek and an aeronaut, Lee Scoresby, to travel north. They travel to Trollesund and eventually to Bolvangar. Along the way, Lyra discovers the truth about her lineage: her aunt Marisa Coulter is actually her mother, and her uncle Lord Asriel is her father. She learns that the Magisterium uses 'intercision' to separate children from their dæmons to protect them from 'Dust'. Lyra destroys the intercision machine and leads the children to safety. The film ends with Lyra and her companions fleeing north in a balloon to find Asriel, while Lyra commits to fighting the Magisterium's influence over the multiverse.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 113
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chris Weitz
- Writers
- Chris Weitz · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Nicole Kidman · Marisa Coulter; Sam Elliott · Lee Scoresby; Eva Green · Serafina Pekkala; Ian McKellen · Iorek Byrnison; Ian McShane · Ragnar Sturlusson; Freddie Highmore · Pantalaimon; Kathy Bates · Hester; Kristin Scott Thomas · Stelmaria; Daniel Craig · Lord Asriel; Dakota Blue Richards · Lyra Belacqua
- Genres
- fantasy; adventure
- Themes
- religion; power; identity
- Tone and mood
- fantasy; epic
- Setting
- An alternate Earth featuring Jordan College, the North Pole, and the kingdom of the Ice Bears.
- Premise and plot tags
- fantasy; adventure; quest; multiverse
- Source material / true-story basis
- Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
- Franchise connections
- His Dark Materials
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews and was noted for its impressive visuals but criticized for its pacing and for being less daring than the source material.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · scale: percentage · review count: 196; Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 33
- Production trivia
- The film was based on the 1995 novel Northern Lights.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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