When we were young, my parents always made sure we had enough books to read. One of the most read authors back then was Astrid Lindgren, whose books always were a lot more than simple youth fiction. Her books brilliantly managed to capture what it’s like to be a kid, especially when all there is around you is a grown-up’s world. It didn’t matter whether they were stories about opposing robber’s bands, an orphan boy who finds out he’s actually a prince or two brothers who meet again in a magical afterlife.
The Brothers Lionheart, the one about the two brothers, was always a book I loved. Not least because I thought that with me being a lion sign-wise, the whole story was written for me in a way (well, I was a kid, what do you expect?). But not only the book, I was also fascinated by the movie that was created in 1977 (with a screenplay adapted by Astrid Lindgren herself). Back then, this blend of adventure, death, black clad evil knights and not least a dragon was perfect to draw me in. And to this day I’m searching for the soundtrack, which had such a sweet opening tune, I’m sometimes dreaming about hearing it again.
Well, and I will hear it again soon, because some kind soul in some Swedish production company, sometime in 2004, decided to not let this gem of childhood memories slide into oblivion, and so issued it on DVD, complete with German subtitles (because my Swedish is still rather basic, and they must have known). I ordered the DVD today (and who would have known that rekindling your favourite childhood moments is as cheap as 9,99 Euros).
And if you haven’t seen the movie yet, I advise you do the same (unless you are my girlfriend, then you’ll have to watch it in about four days anyway).