The Labyrinth: No Power Over Me

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.