The special one Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts HBO’s Max begins with a predictable and no less moving scene. The iconic Hogwarts letters reach the hands of new recipients and become a valid vehicle to remember the passage of time. But also to show its cast in all its placid normality, as if the show is a window into their lives today.
In fact, the HBO Max show is very interested in creating the illusion that time passed in a certain placidness. That the ups and downs that have surrounded the saga, the rumors and even the impact of the reality about the franchise does not really matter. The letters reach the hands of Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and other members of the cast amid ordinary situations. The resource provides the immediate feeling that the special is focused on the now, on an ideal present that the program looks at with kindness. Of course, it is a clever hoax.
Most Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts it is focused on remembering. Do it not from the anecdote, but from the emotional experience. The directors Eran Creevy, Joe Pearlman and Giorgio Testi strive to ensure that each scene is permeated with a harmless longing. That poses some problems. For example, how to approach the conspicuous absence of JK Rowling, author and center of controversy in recent years. The show has notorious trouble coping with the brunt of the scandal, and it does the best it can.
The author, involved in controversy during the last five years, appears and disappears from the narration of the special in a forced way. It is clear that the production made the decision not to get involved in the scandal. Or at least to safeguard what is a tribute to the cinematographic work while keeping a distance from the controversy. But the need to avoid something obvious – and notorious enough to be constant news – is as forced as it is unnecessary. Rowling’s absence is even more apparent in the midst of all efforts to disguise a public conflict of such proportions.
So that Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts it’s kind of a blank space. Neutral by force and with a naive tone that is disconcerting by a certain unnecessary softness. One that ends up being the most recognizable element – and at times, the most uncomfortable – in a journey through a generational heritage of considerable weight. But that sweetened vision, loaded with laughter, original footage and testimonials, tastes little compared to the world beyond Harry Potter.
The dearest faces are back
Of course, one of the great moments of Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is his ability to reunite his child cast. And also, to demonstrate in a way that the curse of child actors in this case was not fully fulfilled. Or at least, in the case of the trio, radiant and with careers independent of the great phenomenon. The production bets a large part of its narrative on showing the brilliance of the actors and also their commitment to the saga. “Being Harry Potter is at the center of a lot of things in my life,” says Daniel Radcliffe, and he does so with obvious sincerity.
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Emma Watson, with all her weight as an actress with a promising path in Hollywood, is without a doubt the most pleasant surprise. With an outfit that remembers his place like It girl Booming, it is also the brightest presence. A little less noticeable is Rupert Grint, mature and without the youthful enthusiasm. But the same could be said of the rest of the cast, who return in a kind of great family reunion that the special captures in all its emotion.
Several of the special’s great moments celebrate Harry Potter’s ability to create his own weight. To sustain itself through decades, changes, and the inevitable maturity. The show strives – and sometimes flawlessly succeeds – that the story is everything. And also the repercussion that the phenomenon had on several generations of fans.
Much more when part of the adult cast joins the program. Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman and Mark Williams return to laugh and marvel at their significance. The same as the directors Chris Columbus as spontaneous host, Alfonso Cuarón and David Yates.
Even Ralph Fiennes has a short, amiable appearance shrouded in shadow and with an air of mystery. For your first half hour, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts has made it clear that it is a tribute. One for the fans.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts: A Happily Unreal World
One of the most notorious issues facing the special is not being able to analyze the film saga in all its weight. Forget the small disputes between the cast, the sensitive curiosities and also the toughest ones. After all, it was a youthful cast that spent much of their adolescence between the cameras. The special forgets conveniently – and unfairly – various conflicts and even deaths in more than fifteen years of recordings.
A glaring omission is everything that happened around the Jamie Waylett case. the interpreter of Vincent Crabbe who ended up in jail. For better or for worse, tense situations, conflicts and also pain are part of the saga. But the production ignores him and makes his absence an almost aggressive white space due to his notoriety. The error happens over and over again and for its last leg it is clear that it is the ballast with which the program must load.
While there are tributes and moving words for Alan Rickman, Richard Harris and Helen McCrory,the program forgets others. Either because of their low participation in the plot or because they are uncomfortable, as in the case of Robert Knox (Marcus Belby). The actor died in the middle of a fight in London, the details of which were leaked to the tabloid press.
But in the end, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is what it promises. A time capsule to celebrate a joyous collective experience, suspended over its mistakes and pains. Is it enough for the fans? In the end, the program is a tribute to all. And also, a soft experiment that perhaps shows that the exploitation of nostalgia is beginning to be excessive.