Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A thrilling journey through legends, belief and folklore, this film goes behind the scenes with the British Library as they search to tell that story through objects in their collection, in an ambitious new exhibition: Harry Potter: A History Of Magic. J.K. Rowling, who is lending unseen manuscripts, drawings and drafts from her private archives (which will sit alongside treasures from the British Library, as well as original drafts and drawings from Jim Kay) talks about some of the personal items she has lent to the exhibition and gives new insight into her writing, looking at some of the objects from the exhibition that have fired her imagination.
This documentary pairs the Harry Potter universe with genuine historical artifacts and British Library scholarship, giving it an engaging educational hook. The framing around the exhibition works reasonably well, and J.K. Rowling's personal archive contributions add some genuine insider value. However, as a documentary it follows a fairly conventional museum-tour structure, and the 'acting' dimension is essentially just talking-head interviews with limited dynamism. The cinematography is competent but not visually adventurous. The ending wraps up neatly but without much emotional payoff beyond the exhibition itself. Novelty earns a modest bump for the clever intersection of popular fiction and genuine historical folklore scholarship, but it doesn't transcend its format enough to rank higher.