Many fans of JRR Tolkien, and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, have been eagerly waiting for the online release of the fan film, Born of Hope. The wait is over. The movie went online at DailyMotion.com yesterday at 7 pm GMT.
Born of Hope is the story of Aragorn’s parents, Arathorn and Gilraen, during a turbulent time in the Dúnedain’s history. It was produced by Actors At Work Productions, and directed by Kate Madison.
For those who are familiar with the background of Aragorn, aspects of the movie will come as no surprise. Arathorn and Gilraen get married and have a son named Aragorn, who eventually goes to Elrond’s house in Rivendell to live. Tolkien fans know the history. But what makes the movie such a great story is not what we already knew; it is how we get there. The creators of Born of Hope are not only first-rate filmmakers, but also superb storytellers.
As fans began to see teasers and trailers for the film come online, it was obvious that this effort was going to look and feel professional. What they didn’t know was the quality of this film would rank up with some of the best professional films.
Not only is the cinematography and the editing excellent, but the sound is better than you get with most movies you have to pay for. There is even a computer-generated character that could compete with anything Peter Jackson produced in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The music is spot on—never distracting—and the original song during the credits is moving and befitting Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
The only technical glitch was that the movie ended abruptly before the credits and the song were finished. Hopefully this was a temporary problem that happened in the process of uploading, and will be fixed soon.
The story itself takes the viewer on some twists and turns. Fans may know where they are going, but they will often wonder what the path holds that will lead them there. You will be reminded of Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings, but the details will be different. This is appropriate since Tolkien himself is known for plot lines that intimate the past. For example, there are similarities in the stories of Aragorn and Arwen, and Beren and Lúthien.
The bloodline of the king must be preserved, and Born of Hope is part of the story of how it was preserved. Aragorn gives hope to his people that the kingdom will one day be re-established in Middle-earth. That is why the Elves call him Estel, Hope.
It only seems appropriate this movie would come out at this season when we remember another King who was protected in his infancy. Jesus Christ came to Earth some two thousand years ago, and the gifts of the wise men enabled him and his family to flee to Egypt where he was protected from those who wanted to kill him.
Christians await the “Return of the King”—”the Lord Jesus Christ, our Hope.” (1 Timothy 1:1)
To read an interview with the director of the film, see The Story of Aragorn’s Parents.
To view the official Born of Hope website, which has a link to the film, click here.
To view video podcasts about the making of the film, click here.
December 13th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
The movie is now also available on ExposureRoom.com with the glitch at the end of the credits fixed. This also seems to be a higher quality video. Unless you have a better high-speed connection, I recommend you watch it in the Low resolution, which is actually very nice on most standard computer screens.
December 19th, 2009 at 1:47 am
DailyMotion.com now has a “fixed” version of the film: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbhonj_born-of-hope-extended-version_shortfilms
There is now also a copy on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qINwCRM8acM