DAY 8- Month of Movie Quotes: Mulan (1998)

Fa Zhou: Mulan.

[Mulan quickly moves in front of her father and kneels causing him to sit back down]

Mulan: Father, I brought you the sword of Shan-Yu [hands the sword to Fa Zhou] and the crest of the Emperor [hands the crest to Fa Zhou]. [with head bowed] They’re gifts to honor the Fa Family.

[Fa Zhou takes the gifts and throws them down to the ground beside him to the surprise of Mulan. He bends down and holds her arms outstretched]

Fa Zhou: The greatest gift and honor, is having you for a daughter. [Fa Zhou wipes away Mulan’s tear then hugs Mulan] I’ve missed you so.

Mulan: I’ve missed you too Baba.

This scene always reminds me of my father. When I was a child I was incredibly shy, but I loved to sing. The second solo I ever did was “Reflection” from this movie. But because I was so shy, especially the older I became, my dad would have me sing this song to him. Sometimes I still do.

I love the relationship between Mulan and her father. It reminds me of my life and how grateful I am to have such a loving father as well. This quote always chokes me up for this reason. Honestly, this is one of my favorite scenes in all film.

DAY 7-Month of Movie Quotes: The Usual Suspects (1995)

Verbal: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that… he is gone.

I have never actually seen this movie but am well aware of its iconic ending and this quote which it embodies.

We must be so careful not to let ourselves forget there is great evil in this world. Moral ambiguity is a fancy way of saying there is no good and evil or right and wrong.

In 2 Nephi from the Book of Mormon Nephi states, “And behold others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell: and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none- and thus he whispered in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains from whence there is no deliverance.”

I like this quote because it makes it very clear how important it is not to let evil into our lives unwittingly. I think it is also a call to recognize that where there is evil there is also love and goodness.

DAY 6- Month of Movie Quotes: McLintock (1967)

McLintock: Becky! Come here. Somethin’ I ought to tell you. Guess now’s as good a time as any. You’re going to have every young buck west of the Missouri around here tryin’ to marry you – mostly because you’re a handsome filly, but partly because I own everything in this country from here to there. They’ll think you’re going to inherit it.

Well, you’re not. I’m going to leave most of it to, well, to the nation really, for a park where no lumbermen’ll cut down all the trees for houses with leaky roofs. Nobody’ll kill all the beaver for hats for dudes nor murder .

What I’m going to give you is a 500 cow spread on the Upper Green River. Now that may not seem like much, but it’s more than we had, your mother and I. Some folks are gonna say I’m doin’ all this so I can sit up in the hereafter and look down on a park named after me, or that I was disappointed in you – didn’t want you to get all that money.

But the real reason, Becky, is because I love you, and I want you and some young man to have what I had, because all the gold in the United States Treasury and all the harp music in heaven can’t equal what happens between a man and a woman with all that growin’ together. I can’t explain it any better than that.

My mother often tells me that true love comes through growing and laboring together. I believe we come to understand love in many stages of our lives. It truly is something we must all experience.

DAY 5- Month of Movie Quotes: Mansfield Park (1999)

Edmund Bertram: There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time.

If there is anything we learn in this life, I feel it is that love changes and is strengthened in our lives through small everyday choices. The small crushes we had in middle school turn to budding romances, newly wed dreams, deep friendships and charitable companionships.

I feel some loves are truly worth fighting for, whereas others are counterfeits of true love. I like this movie because it shows many kinds of relatio ships and could be endings. But in the end, the main character Fanny chooses her own happiness.

DAY 4- Month of Movie quotes: Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Oogway: Quit, don’t quit… Noodles, don’t noodles… You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.

This quote actually has special meaning for me. When I was on my mission for the LDS church in Russia, I remember meeting with a family still suffering because one son had committed suicide. They could not move beyond the pain. As we met with them this little saying flitted through my mind. I thought, “How will I react when moments like this happen in my own life?”

One of man’s greatest gifts is their ability to choose their attitude in any situation. We choose how we react. Beauty can be found in any circumstance, if we actively search for it. The same goes for happiness and success I feel.

Book Quote: The Paper Magician (2014)

The context of this passage is interesting. Ceony is traveling through the four corners of her teacher’s heart, encountering different parts of himself. She saw his proud and happy moments, his hopes and aspirations and here she encounters the parts of himself he can’t forgive: the dark corners each of us have but choose to overcome or cultivate. The greatest battle is the one within ourselves.

What about my mistakes? I think about them, too, but where would I be if I thought of nothing else? What sort of person would I be if I drowned in them?

…

‘I forgive you Emery.’ Ceony repeated. ‘I’ve seen all of it, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t intend any of this to happen. ‘ She blinked away tears and stifled a sob lurking deep I get throat. ‘But I forgive you. It’s okay now. ‘

…

‘You don’t have the power to forgive.’

‘Then forgive yourself! ‘ She shouted, pushing herself back up. She pressed her palm against the wall for support. ‘Everyone has a dark side! But its their choice whether or not to cultivate it. Don’t you understands? Laura’s exploited hers, but not you. Not you Emery Thane.’ -Charlie M. Holmburg

DAY 3- Month of Movie Quotes: Cinderella (2015)

King: Oh, you’ve come. Good.
Kit: Oh, Father. Don’t go.
King: I must. You needn’t be alone. Take a bride. The Princess Chelina. What if I commanded you to do so?
Kit: I love and respect you, but I will not. I believe that we need not look outside of our borders for strength or guidance. What we need is right before us. And we need only have courage and be kind to see it.
King: Just so. You’ve become your own man. Good. And perhaps, in the little time left to me, I can become the father you deserve. You must not marry for advantage. You must marry for love. Find that girl. Find her. The one they’re all talking about. The forgetful one who loses her shoes…loses her shoes.
(BOTH CHUCKLING)
King: Oh, be cheerful, boy.
Kit: Thank you, Father.
King: Thank you, Kit. I love you, son.
Kit: I love you, Father.
(PRINCE SOBBING)

When I watched Cinderella in theaters, I loved the relationships shared between parents and children. I especially loved the scene where this quote takes place. I thought how much his father loved him, to tell him to marry for love and make his own choices.

I liked the romance in this movie, but this was by far my favorite scene because it spoke of real love only a family can share.

I also loved how human it made the Prince feel as he cried by his father’s bedside. I would love to see more loving relationships between fathers and sons in stories like this one.

DAY 2-Month of Movie Quotes: Sabrina (1995)

Linus Larrabee: Listen, I work in the real world with real responsibilities.

Sabrina: I know you work in the real world and you’re very good at it. But that’s work. Where do you live, Linus?

I watched this movie again the other day and reflected on how so often love comes unexpectedly. In fact, much of the time it comes when we least expect it. For those who have not seen it, I would recommend it if you love subtle romantic films.

This quote has always reminded me how there are so many in the world who are not living in it. I feel there is so much we can be, do and dream. Yet, I wonder if too often we get caught in the “real world” and forget to experience life.

For the characters, I believe Sabrina told Linus this out of experience: because she had lived for so long chasing an illusionary love and not living for herself. Linus himself had always worked and that became his life. But I think it is tragic if we don’t allow ourselves to live outside the bonds of work for a time.

DAY 1- Month of Movie Quotes: Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Art, no matter its form, is always a personal matter: a journey into the things which influence us on a deeper , more profound level. I believe that art is a manifestation of man’s potential for creation.

After a long leave of absence, I’ve decided starting today to release a series of memorable movie quotes. These are the kind of lines and scenes which often replay in my mind. I believe we all have them: those moments in film which really make us stop and think.

So without further ado let’s begin!

For today, I chose a quote from the newly acclaimed animated film Kubo and the Two Strings. I won’t do a review of this film for awhile, but I will say I loved its story, animation and message on family and courage. It was truly a joy to see. I highly recommend this movie for those who love traditional Japanese folklore and stop motion animation.

(After seeing golden herrings fly overhead)

Monkey– It’s believed that they carry the souls of the departed. Carrying them over to where ever they need to go.

Beetle– What are they singing?

Monkey– Many say, the songs about what happens when we die, how we don’t just disappear. Like Kubo’s paper, we shift, we transform, so we can continue our story in another place. The end of one story is merely the beginning of another.

I love this quote because it speaks the profound eternal truth that death is not the end. Familial ties, love and memories cannot be severed by death. I believe one of the greatest illusions in this life is the illusion of separation. Life truly has a deeper meaning beyond what we initially understand. Beyond what we see with our physical eyes.

For the movie, I think it is especially important to remember this truth because Kubo struggles with separation almost the entirety of the story. From the death of his parents and the murderous intentions of his extended family, his story could be counted as one of the loneliest. But, as one discovers in watching the movie, he is not as alone as he believes. Nor is his family as far away as he thinks.