My lovely and thoughtful sister sent me some post-fire presents, including Labyrinth on DVD. It's my all-time favourite film and the first film I remember seeing. It also contains the first speech I ever learned:
Give me the child.
Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen.
For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom is as great.
You have no power over me.
That speech still sends shivers up my spine. I've always found those last two lines empowering and they've given me strength though times of weakness.
The film made a huge impact on me, being an archetypal story of a hero's quest to get back something that has been lost. In my mind, it's the same story as that of another of my top films: Kill Bill (by which I mean both 1 and 2). I had lent the latter to Spanner and it is therefore the only film left from my original collection. Along with a scene in The Neverending Story (in which the horse sinks into the Swamps of Sadness) Kill Bill is one of the few films that makes me cry. Particularly this scene, which I find the most powerful representation of strength and courage in the face of adversity:
Labyrinth has Jim Henson puppets; Kill Bill has Samurai swords and gore aplenty. On the surface of things they seem diametrically opposed. But they're the two films guaranteed to lift my spirits and renew my energy, giving me the determination to succeed in my own personal quest.
So, thank you Freya for bringing Labyrinth back into my life.
Thank you Spanner for looking after Uma for me (and, while we're at it, thanks for the tango… xx)
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