The primary focus of most boarding schools is the formation of character. This overtly moral purpose differs considerably from the intentions of publicly funded institutions or even most non-Catholic private day schools. Acquiring the knowledge to succeed at university and in the adult working world is supposed to be secondary, although many parents footing the bills assume otherwise.

The boarding-school universe is its own reality. Once away from home the students create for themselves a surrogate family. Friendships are formed with other students and even teachers that can last a lifetime.

Only a handful of films (Dead Poets Society, Goodbye Mr. Chips, etc.) have explored this rich subject matter. Among them are two new releases, The Emperor's Club and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, whose key dramatic conflicts spring from their schools' unique ethos.

The Emperor's Club, based on Ethan Canin's short story The Palace Thief, is set in 1976 at St. Benedict's Academy for Boys. Its Latin motto is Non Tibi, which means “not for oneself.”

Arthur Hundert (Kevin Kline) is the most popular and influential teacher. His subject is Greek and Roman history, whose values he encourages his well-born students to live as well as study. “Greatness and ambition are nothing without contribution,” he tells them.

The Class Cynic

The order of his classroom is disrupted by a cynical new student, Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch). The boy's father (Harris Yulin), a powerful U.S. senator, attacks Hundert's purposes. “Your job is not to mold character but to teach,” he asserts.

Hundert refuses to change his approach. He is determined to bring out the best in Sedgewick's character by inspiring him with the classics. The boy seems to respond, transforming himself from a slacker into a diligent scholar who's respectful of others.

Hundert, who had also wrestled with an overbearing father, sees something of himself in Sedgewick and violates his own ethical standards to help him. The boy is chosen to be a finalist in the school's Roman history competition, an honor he wouldn't have earned on the basis of his academic achievements alone.

Unfortunately, Hundert has deceived himself about the changes in his protégé's character. He catches Sedgewick cheating during the contest but finds a way to disqualify him without the other students' knowing.

Flash forward 25 years. Sedgewick is now the millionaire CEO of a successful corporation. He offers St. Benedict's a large contribution in return for a rematch of the Roman history competition during which he claims he will redeem his “intellectual honor.” Hundert is brought out of retirement to referee. There is, however, a twist that brings up the same moral issues triggered by the first contest.

Director Michael Hoffman and screen-writer Neil Tolkin depict a boarding-school community where integrity, service and civic duty are held up as virtues. But a faint whiff of relativism hovers over their otherwise well-made drama. Hundert is a decent but flawed individual who develops an understanding of his own limitations and those of his school. But even though his values are shown to be better than Sedgewick's, all points of view are presented as a matter of individual choice.

Interestingly, there's no mention of religion or religious teachings throughout, an unrealistic omission at a school called St. Benedict's, which is surely affiliated with some denomination. If the movie had explored the Christian beliefs on which the institution was founded, it would have provided a deeper perspective on the conflicts between Hundert and Sedgewick.

The main action in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is also set in a boarding school. Director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steven Kloves skillfully exploit the intramural house rivalries, sports contests and parental legacies that are the heart of that unique experience to advance their plot.

A digitally animated elf named Dobby warns Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) not to return to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry because his life will be in danger. And, sure enough, the gifted young wizard and his buddies, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), are confronted there by threatening messages in blood and fellow students being turned into stone. Working against them is the sinister prefect from a rival house Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), and his well-connected father, Lucius (Jason Isaacs).

We learn that many years ago Salazaar Slytherin, one of the school's founders, had determined to banish from Hogwarts all prospective witches and wizards who weren't of “pure” wizard blood. To achieve his racist goal, Slytherin has created a secret chamber and placed within it a Baselisk monster who tries to kill all the “mudblood” students of mixed lineage. Harry, of course, saves the day, with a little help from the kindly headmaster, Dumbledore (Richard Harris).

The filmmakers show themselves better at special effects than atmosphere. The movie has a Spielberg-lite, Indiana Jones action-adventure feel, even in scenes that would be better served by a classic horror-movie look.

A ‘Brooding’ School

Those who disliked the first film for its spiritual content will find nothing to change their minds in the second. But an examination of the boarding-school ethos may help explain why so few viewers are offended by a series of movies that glamorizes the occult.

Ironically, unlike most boarding schools, Hogwarts is presented as more of a trade school than as a builder of character. Its main focus is on the teaching of magic tricks, not the formation of values, even though Dumbledore offers wise counsel on an occasional ad hoc basis. The magic powers displayed by Harry are depicted as mere mechanical devices with no connection to a supernatural world of evil and its moral code. Thus we are able to root for him to use his “good” wizardry to defeat “the bad.”

The links between education and values formation are a hot topic in today's political climate. Both The Emperor's Club and Harry Potter provide some useful insights about their relationship even though their primary purpose is entertainment.

John Prizer writes from Washington, D.C.