Adventure · Fantasy
American
2001 · Directed by Chris Columbus · 152 min
An orphaned boy raised in a cupboard under his relatives' stairs receives a letter that changes everything: he is wanted at a school for young wizards. The film is a warm, wide-eyed adventure about arriving somewhere new, with mystery running underneath.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of early-2000s fantasy cinema, released the same year as The Fellowship of the Ring, when big-budget fantasy became a mainstream tentpole genre.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a film about arrival: how a newcomer and the audience learn a whole world at the same time.
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