I wasn’t that sure I was going to see Snow White and the Huntsman. I don’t really like the Snow White fairy tale and I’m not a huge Kirsten Stewart fan. The trailers piqued my interest, though, so I made my way to the theater to see that girl with skin white as snow, lips red as blood and hair black as ebony. The movie was entertaining and, while I wasn’t impressed with Kirsten Stewart as Snow White, Chris Hemsworth was great as the Huntsman.
Below are some spoiler-free reflections from Snow White and the Huntsman.
The Lord’s Prayer
Early in the movie Snow White recites the Lord’s Prayer to herself. I found it extremely odd that in a fantasy world replete with fairies, dwarves and magic, the Lord’s Prayer seems to be common. The story never suggested that it takes place in our world, where the Lord’s Prayer means something. I assume the screenwriter just needed a prayer for Snow White to recite and picked the most common one. The screenwriter must not have cared that the Lord’s Prayer is addressed to a specific God, not some random god from the Brothers Grimm universe.
Beauty
Beauty stands as a central theme in Snow White and the Huntsman. For anyone familiar with the fairy tale, the Evil Queen is concerned with her beauty above all else. Apparently she never read Proverbs 31.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
I have no idea the pressures today’s women face to live up to our culture’s standards of physical beauty. I honestly can’t even comprehend it. So I don’t want to tell women that they just need to buck up, trust in God and feel better about themselves. I would like to say, though, for all of us, we need to place our identity in Christ and not in the standards of the world around us. The Evil Queen lived her life by a standard of beauty and it consumed her. If we live our lives by the standards of this world, eventually we’ll be consumed by them and miss out on life that is truly life. If we can place our identity in Christ, though, and slowly listen to his voice more than that of the world around us, then we can find life that is truly life.
Thor
I know Thor wasn’t in Snow White and the Huntsman. I know that Chris Hemsworth plays Thor and that he also plays the Huntsman. However, every time the Huntsman was onscreen, all I could think about was Thor swinging Mjölnir and using the Chrysler Building as a giant lightning gun against the Chitauri. I thought that the Huntsman was the best part about Snow White and the Huntsman. Really, as I said in my preview, I would have been just as happy, if not happier, with a movie called The Huntsman. I really think I just like Chris Hemsworth as an actor…or I just like Thor…whether he’s swinging a hammer or an axe.
Snow White and the Huntsman wasn’t the best fantasy movie ever but it was definitely better than Disney’s Snow White. Man, I hate that movie. Maybe Snow White and the Huntsman will be successful enough for the sequel: Snow White and the Huntsman 2.
What did you think about Snow White and the Huntsman?
Good review. Glad to hear it wasn’t completely awful. Surprised at the Lord’s Prayer use.
That’s ok – every time Thor was on screen in “The Avengers,” I kept thinking, “That’s Jim Kirk’s dad!”
The Lord’s Prayer thing is surprising. Might’ve been better to go with something like, “Now I lay me down to sleep,” or something else that is as much (if not more) nursery rhyme than Christian prayer.
I wasn’t interested in this film until hearing some positive buzz over the weekend. May have to give it a shot.