The Labyrinth: No Power Over Me

[butterfly]

Just rewatched this movie with my roommate and a friend and was reminded of how completely I adore it. I don't remember when I first watched it, but I did (and do) identify so strongly with Sarah and her journey.

For me, this movie is all about Sarah's Coming of Age, her casting away her dependence on childish things (without throwing away the right to enjoy them). I like the theory that the Labyrinth itself is real, but that the details are shaped by Sarah's mind (Didymus and Hoggle both being things she has in room prior to her journey).

We really get to see a growing up process, one about a girl, still not anywhere near as common as stories about boys growing up. We see her realize that life isn't fair (it just is), that you can't truly bribe or threaten people into helping you, that people are more important than things, that you have to test the walls to break out of a straight line, and that, though there is nothing wrong with dreaming, dreams cannot be a substitute for reality.

Sadly, though I watched this movie many times, I still had to discover all of those lessons on my own. Maybe we all do.

It's a lovely movie, one that had as much resonance for me this time through as it did the very first time that I watched it.

Comments

[jic]

As Borg and I agreed on the way to the MAX: You do fabulous meta.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Aw. You are the sweetness.

[bhadrasvapna.livejournal.com]

Couple of things:

1) there is a pretty good Manga out "Return to Labryinth" in which Toby comes back to Labryinth. It will continue sometime next year (sometime as in comic book time) . All characters make an appearance.

2) I thought it totally brilliant how they used a wonderful fantasy movie to warn against the dangers of too much fantasy.

3) There's a part of the movie I serious missed first time around, such as why Jared needed Sarah so bad (he loves her was enough for my romantic teen mind to wrap around.) It is much easier to see when you see Terry Jone's original script. As an adult, that layer added so much more to Jared's character. The manga is completely based on this and is in such the Hensonian spirit, I had to remind myself that the man is dead.

[vampireborg.livejournal.com]

Do you happen to have the ISBN or the pubilisher info on that? I need to dig it up, it sounds like. :D

[bhadrasvapna.livejournal.com]

From the publisher Tokyopop.

(they are also doing the Legends of the Dark Crystal. The first chapter appears at the end of the book. This doesn't look as promising.

I got it from Amazon. It was $9.99

[vampireborg.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, it looks like borg might be picking the manga up, so I might ask her if I can borrow it, as it sounds interesting.

I thought it totally brilliant how they used a wonderful fantasy movie to warn against the dangers of too much fantasy.

Agreed. Because the movie itself was good, the things that it shows feel more worthwhile to listen to.

[xander-harris.livejournal.com]

I havent seen that movie in...man, i think well over ten years.

I remember seeing it as a kid and I LOVED it. Crushed on Sarah. And how could you not love Hoggle.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

It's a really great movie! Sarah was one of my personal heroes when I was a kid. And Hoggle is a wonderful character.

[lokapala.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I always saw the Labyrinth as a map of Sarah psyche (since not only Didymus and Hoggle are her toys, but everything she encounters in the realm can be seen in the first shot of her bedroom), and the last scenes - the confrontation with Jared and the dance with the "toys" while the owl is looking from the outside - as Sarah failing to pass the quest/last test. At least for me there is always a doubt as to what exactly the confrontation with Jared is supposed to be about, how Sarah sees it (well, no, this one is pretty obvious) and how are we supposed to see it.