Harry Potter: Reality and magic help modern classics

Prermier of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The film "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" has cast its spell over China this past weekend where it was released in movie theaters throughout country as it was around the world.

"I've been looking forward to this movie for more than half a year," said Wang Yifan, a fourth-year student at Beijing's Agricultural College. "There is nothing more important to me than Harry Potter," said Wang who has collected the English and Chinese editions of all six Harry Potter's novels. She has also attended the premieres of the three 'Harry' films.

Box-office receipts here show the movies are like a magic potion for the film's producers. Moviegoers spent more than 110 million yuan on the first two movies in the series.

When asked why she was so obsessed with Harry Potter, the 22-year-old Wang Yifan said she could see her own shadow in the story of Harry Potter. "The friendship among sworn brothers, study boredom and pressures, the envy of classmates and even the hazy, lovely first love are something we've all experienced so I think the stories are very approachable".

It's not only university students who are obsessed with "Harry'. Middle school and primary school students, young white-collar workers and even the parents of some followers have been driven to become fans.

Dominos revealing "Harry Potter"in both English and Chinese wait to be toppled at the premiere ceremony of the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Xingmei International Cineplex in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 17, 2005.

In October the Chinese version of book six, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", brought another magic cyclone to Beijing. The Xinhua website reporter on Saturday that more than 20,000 copies were sold in the Capital on the first day of publication. The first five Harry Potter books in China sold more than 6 million copies.

For many Chinese the books and films offer a unique and imaginative story. The suspense and action of the plot satisfy an adult's fantasy while being extremely attractive to children, said Professor Huang Jinhua of the School of Cinema & Television at the Communication University of China.

Author J. K. Rowling's wisdom lies in her blending realistic elements with the fantasy of ancient wizardry. "The space-time inversion, magic, tricks, curses and sorcery are beyond our experiences, said Chen Yinan, a postgraduate student at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, adding that the Eight Diagrams Magazine, the peculiar personalities of various characters and their humorous pranks are familiar to every one of us,.

In a letter to Harry Potter published not long ago a female editor in her 30s in Beijing says, "the more I read (Harry Potter) the more the more my heart's content":

The young boy is small but processes extraordinary strength. He earns a godfather's caress, schoolmaster's appreciation and classmates' admiration. He also suffers the deaths of this parents, the murder of his companions and finally confronts Lord Voldemort - the dark warlock who is responsible for many of Harry's woes.

Shi Yue, a prize-winning film professional says he is a "Harry fan" who loves to wallow in the magic world of the movies. "Harry Potter" is like a beautiful dreamland; that brings back all the illusions of my childhood

By People's Daily Online