Labyrinth starring Jennifer Connelly was one of my much-awaited movies from the 80s. My bestfriend Lanie waited months for it to be shown in our province. Yes, by that time, Lanie became a Jennifer Connelly fan also! Thanks to the first movie I've watched, also starring her in Phenomena. Since then, she became our favorite :)
I love this movie mostly for it's fantasy theme, it's almost like a fairytale story for me then.. and still is now!
The film opens with a barn owl watching a teenager, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), reciting lines from her favorite book called The Labyrinth in a park. As Sarah struggles to remember the final line of her monologue, the town clock chimes seven o' clock and Sarah remembers she has to babysit her brother Toby. She rushes home and has a confrontation with her impatient stepmother.
Following her parents' departure Sarah realizes that her teddy bear, Lancelot, is missing from her room. She finds the toy in Toby's room and resentfully declares a wish that the goblins would take the baby away. Abruptly, Toby vanishes and a barn owl flies into the room, transforming into Jareth: King of the Goblins (David Bowie). Jareth tells Sarah that he will return her brother if she can solve his Labyrinth within thirteen hours. He transports Sarah and himself to the Labyrinth, then leaves Sarah to start her quest.
At the entrance of the Labyrinth, Sarah meets Hoggle, a grumpy and obstinate dwarf who refuses to help her. She advances through the labyrinth alone and overcomes a series of obstacles during her journey, including a Knights and Knaves logic puzzle, before eventually trapping herself in an oubliette. Jareth sends Hoggle into the oubliette to free Sarah and misdirect her back to the beginning of the labyrinth.
As they travel Sarah and Hoggle encounter a group of goblins tormenting a gentle beast named Ludo, whose roars frighten Hoggle and lead him to flee. Sarah saves Ludo and travels with him but the two become separated. A group of revelers with detachable limbs called the Fire Gang harass Sarah until Hoggle reappears to rescue her. Shortly afterward they pass through the Bog of Eternal Stench where they are reunited with Ludo and add another to their party: Sir Didymus, a chivalrous, fox-like knight who guards the bridge that leads away from the bog.
Hoggle offers Sarah a peach that Jareth had ordered him to give her. Upon biting the peach, Sarah falls into a trance and finds herself in a dream-like ballroom where Jareth attempts to seduce her. The sound of a striking clock reminds Sarah that she needs to save her brother and she frees herself from the vision to resume her quest. After rejecting an old goblin junk lady who tries to convince her to stay in a recreation of her room filled with all the discarded possessions she outgrew over the years, Sarah rejoins Ludo and Sir Didymus, and the three of them approach the Goblin City that surrounds Jareth's castle. Hoggle appears and disables a giant robot that guards the city gate. Sarah forgives Hoggle for his earlier betrayal and continues with all her friends through the city, successfully defeating the soldiers of the goblin army who have been sent to stop them.
Upon reaching Jareth's throne room, Sarah decides to go forward alone. She finds Jareth and Toby in a vast, stair-filled room, and attempts unsuccessfully to find a path to reach her brother. She is interrupted by Jareth, who confronts her face-to-face and asks her to abandon her quest in order to stay with him forever.
Sarah however vehemently rejects the overture and begins to recite the monologue from the beginning of the film once again in order to help her concentrate on repelling Jareth and rescuing her brother. As he prepares to cast the ultimate spell over her, she finally remembers the last line: "You have no power over me." Jareth, acknowledging defeat, returns Sarah and Toby to their home, whereupon she finds Toby sleeping in his crib, apparently oblivious to the previous events.
Upon having a seat at her vanity, Sarah discovers that she can see Hoggle and the rest of her friends from the Labyrinth, but only behind her through a reflection in the bedroom mirror, as when she turns to face them, they are not there. Sarah tells her friends that she does need them after all, whereupon they appear in her room, surrounding her. The film closes as Sarah and the creatures celebrate her victory over Jareth. Outside the bedroom window, a barn owl briefly watches the party before flying away.
