Explaining the Hedwig Flight Scene

[caliburncy at yahoo.com]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "Amber" <inviziblegirl at h...> wrote:
> That stupid winter scene where Harry walks out with Hedwig and she
> takes off flying takes 30 seconds! It's the most useless scene in
> the movie! All it does is show passage of time! They could've done
> that some other way...

I sort of already explained this, but did a rather cursory job of it, 
since I was unaware at that time that there was a lot of confusion 
from several people surrounding this scene.  So, for anyone that 
wants to understand the purpose of this scene, read on:

This scene immediately follows the scene with Dumbledore talking to 
Harry about the Mirror of Erised.  Specifically, his comment that "It 
does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."  The idea of this 
scene is that Harry is letting go of Hedwig and letting her fly away, 
which is a (somewhat contrived) metaphor for Harry letting go of the 
dream of having his parents back.

The fade from one flight to another at the very end of this scene 
does show the transition of time, but that is not the primary purpose.

This is not me reading too much into it--although I did guess this on 
my own initially.  But I shortly afterward found by accident an 
interview somewhere on the internet where Columbus literally confirms 
this.  I'll go scavenge for it if someone want the URL.

Is it brilliant?  Hardly.  Is it superfluous?  Perhaps.  But since we 
can't change it, at least understanding the intent behind it will 
perhaps make it more watchable for everyone.

-Luke