Mestizo Prince?

We finally got around to seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Sunday, waiting for two weeks after the release just so we could use a few discount ticket coupons. Good thing, too, as the non-matinée tickets were $11.50 each; the coupon discounted the tickets by $4.00 each so we managed to save $8. (Sheesh, I can still remember going to a double feature, paying only $4.50 for a few hours away from the folks!)

This sixth installment of the movie/book series finds Harry, Hermione and Ron working their way through romantic relationships while Harry also tries to find a way into the confidence of Professor Horace Slughorn. Professor Slughorn happened to be teaching at the school while Tom Riddle was a student and purposely sabotaged one of his own memories of their meetings, much to the chagrin of Albus Dumbledore. He needs the corrected memory in order to figure out what Lord Voldemort is up to.

For what it's worth, those two intertwining stories were good. Jim Broadbent was excellent as Professor Slughorn and his scenes with Harry were some of the best in the film. And Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown, the lovelorn girl trying to win the affections of Ron Weasley was comic genius. And, the usual cast was wonderful as always.

But something was lacking for me. The movie didn't feel as though it could stand on its own. The viewer either needs to have seen the preceding movies or at least have a good understanding of what the story is up to that point. It takes for granted that everyone already knows the story. But my biggest concern is the Half-Blood Prince himself, who appears as a name only in the potions book Harry grudgingly accepts for Professor Slughorn's class. No one seems all that concerned when Harry bests Hermione in the potions class, thanks to the Half-Blood Prince's scribbles in the margins of the book. No one tries very hard to uncover just who the Half-Blood Prince is or was, and it's discarded for most of the film. I mean, "Half-Blood Prince" is part of the title so shouldn't a bit more time have been spent in trying to track him down instead of relegating him to an afterthought?

I left the theater only somewhat satisfied.

And, after seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, my cousin informed me via FaceBook that in Spain, the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series was titled Harry Potter and the Mestizo Prince. We both found it a bit odd since a mestizo is generally someone of mixed European and Native American ancestry. As far as I remember from reading the book, the character who was eventually revealed to be the Half-Blood Prince definitely lacked the Native American aspect.

Image from Onat Lopera.