Honestly, the first time I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring I hated it. I was in the theater with my mom and brother. They had both read the books and I hadn't. When the film ended with Frodo and Sam heading downriver, I thought I had just wasted three and a half hours to see an incomplete story. And of course it was incomplete! What did I expect? It was only a third of the story. But I was so irritated I swore I wouldn't see the rest of the films.
Then I took a class in college on Tolkien while studying abroad in Oxford, England, which is where Tolkien lived when he wrote the series and most of his other work. And I fell in the love with the Ents. Yes, those giant treeherders were what I needed to realize the beauty of Tolkien's work.
Today we own all three films, the extended versions obviously, and my husband and I have watched them repeatedly. It had been awhile since we'd done a rewatch, so in preparation for this blog, my husband watched the first two films. I sat in on the second one, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, because of the three that's my favorite. (Yeah, those Ents still get to me!) Just watching the second one, I was pulled in completely and so excited to rewatch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
On this viewing (which I should say was, for the original purpose of this blog, unnecessary because I've seen the film so many times), I was reminded of how hope is possible even in the darkest of times. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954, following World War II, and I wonder how much living in England during the war influenced his writing. I wouldn't say that the book is an allegory or in some way represents the different sides, but I think the concept of forces coming together to unite against a common enemy is certainly relevant to what Tolkien witnessed during World War II. But that concept isn't unique to this time period, either; it's a common human experience. One that I think we need to be reminded of from time to time so as to not lose hope in our world. Maybe on this viewing, I needed that reminder, so that's what I saw.
What also struck me this time was how, despite only having three, the women in this film series and story are strong. From Galadriel, one of the fairy leaders, to Arwen, the fairy daughter who believes in man, to my favorite Eowyn, the Rohan woman who fights alongside the men in the battle for Gondor, the women in this story stand up for what they believe in. Eowyn is the strongest of the three as she defies what the men in her society believe by fighting with them. While she disguises herself to do so, her courage inspires me. She also helps Merry join the fight as well. The king tells Merry he is too small to fight, but Eowyn pulls him up on her horse and takes Merry along. She knows what it means to him to fight for their friends. Seeing those who are marginalized stand up and fight for what they believe is one of the key messages in this film. Of course, there's Frodo and Sam, two small hobbits fighting the greatest evil of their time. But that's the obvious example. Eowyn and Merry are the more meaningful example because they are less obvious.
If you have a film you've been thinking about watching, you should rewatch it. I'm glad I did for this one.
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