A few days ago, I came upon a song that made me think of some studies I did back in the 1990s.
I’ve mentioned before here that from 1993 to 1996, I was at home full-time caring for my sons as that was the arrangement that best suited our family at the time. I supplemented my need for structure by becoming more involved in the council of the church I used to belong to, as well as by taking writing courses. I had become quite interested in the teachings of a local minister who began to offer creative writing courses through the Faculty of Theology at The University of Winnipeg. The classes were a lot of fun, and I met some writers with whom I shared bonds that extended into a writing group we held for many years.
In the very first class, the instructor played a portion of the 1984 fantasy film The NeverEnding Story, which no one in the class had seen before, then gave us an assignment to write about “The Nothing,” a presence which was introduced in the segment we watched. I think later on, as a class, we may have watched the whole film together.
The NeverEnding Story was also a movie that my sweety and I later watched occasionally with the boys on family pizza and movie nights. It’s a heartwarming, exciting and engaging film that holds some simple but relevant messages: stay true to your deepest beliefs, and your dreams.
I feel like it’s time to watch it again… it’s an amazing fantasy portrayal, as told through the perspective and imagination of Bastian, a young, lonely and bullied boy grieving the death of his mother and the absence of his workaholic father. Bastian reads the story from a mysterious book… and well, it goes on from there.
The film was the English language directorial debut by German filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen (who played the submarine commander in the 1981 film Das Boot and directed In the Line of Fire and several other films). Electronic music giant Giorgio Moroder, of Italy, often called the “father of disco,” composed the theme song, which was sung by English pop singer Limahl (aka Christopher Hamill).
Now you know a little about why this is my song of the day for today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.
Here’s the official music video from the Rhino Entertainment YouTube channel:
Also, here’s the song presented with an unofficial synopsis video of the film
(SPOILER ALERT! Do not watch if you haven’t seen the movie and want to, as it gives away essential parts of the story!)
Song of the Day for Today 