Crin blanc : le cheval sauvage

Albert Lamorisse is mostly known for his beloved classic 'The Red Balloon', but before that he made this 'White Mane', which is almost as good. Although 'White Mane' is not absolutely perfect, it certainly is and feels authentic. I could say this is a must for anyone who loves horses. It is, that I can't deny. But in my book one doesn't necessarily have to love horses to enjoy this. It's all a matter of liking this sort of films.

This short film is about a wild stallion in a wild region of France and his friendship with a fearless and adventurous young boy. The film tells how they meet and how they develop their friendship. This boy becomes the only human really worthy of the stallion's trust.

The beauty of the cinematography is one of the best things about this. What we see is pure and natural, a "wilder" France not often seen in movies (that is, as far as I know). The boy is wonderfully portrayed by Alain Emery. The boy and the stallion have a perfect chemistry.

This should definitely be on Top 250.

White Mane (1953)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Classic French film about a young boy (Alain Emery) who becomes fixated with an untamable white stallion. Even though the adults can't tame the horse, the young boy will stop at nothing to get the horse to notice him and eventually the boy breaks the horse. This is from the same director who made The Red Balloon and I must admit that I enjoyed this one a little bit more. Outside of one sequence, which I'll talk about later, this film is pretty flawless and at times downright beautiful. The cinematography is top-notch and really makes some great atmosphere especially the scenes in the pond. The pond sequence happens near the beginning of the film and it shows the boy putting a noose around the horse, trying to capture it, but then the horse takes off running and drags the boy through the water as well as the land. I'm not exactly sure how this was filmed but it was quite beautiful. Another great sequence happens at the end when the boy is finally able to get on the horse and a wild chase follows. The only rather disturbing scene is when the horse gets into a fight with another horse and this goes on for a good amount of time and it gets quite violent. The two horses are violently kicking one another and biting each other and these bites lead to some blood flowing and this scene is rather hard to watch.

I first saw this exquisite film in 1968 at an Opus Dei film night ! when my parents were palming me off to these mad institutionalized weirdos as some sort of babysitting service for teens. Fortunately the imagery of this glorious film lasted longer the their brutal effects... mainly because this truly great film is about the ineffectiveness of brutality on a smart strong sensitive teen. Such is the impact of this breathtaking perfect children's film that I actually have been yearning, quietly searching for CRIN BLANC for over 40 years ......and I have been lucky enough to re discover it again. On DVD in spectacular Black and White. I shall simply put my reaction to it as this: What I felt in my head and heart is what I hope I experience one day as I die. In fact as I die I simply want to drift off into 40 blissful minutes of the vision and emotion this film evokes. It is perfect. The sight of escaping on a white stallion into the sea after being pursued by idiots who want to trap me and the loving beast of life is what this film imparts on the viewer. For those who see this film as 'nothing' or a 'good way to kill 40 minutes'... well, have another hamburger and grab a coke and go to a multiplex and see a Nicholas Cage CGI fest. But leave CRIN BLANC to the poets of the world who know what it is to die intact with the love of freedom and beauty. My life is actually now complete now that I have rediscovered CRIN BLANC. There is nothing else in moviedom more rewarding, exquisite and emotionally fulfilling than experiencing this film. If you have an ounce of poetry in you or yearning for everything this planet is and stands for... well it is captured in CRIN BLANC. If you see it and know what I am imparting to you well then you get it. CRIN BLANC is what it is like to die satisfied.CRIN BLANC is our life in a children's parable.

Every French pupil of the sixties or even the seventies knows "Crin-Blanc",one of the major works of Albert Lamorisse who used to make films aimed at the children's market: "Bim Le Petit Ane" "Le Voyage en Ballon" and "le Ballon Rouge" are of the same kind.The French critic remains tepid as far as they are concerned,but abroad all are praised as masterpieces of moving poetry.

Let's take the golden middle:masterpieces,there are certainly not,but representative of an era ,the era of Doisneau's photographs and pupils in grey overall,they certainly are.

Whereas "le Ballon Rouge " depicted a graying urban landscape,"Crin-Blanc" takes place in Camargue with its wild horses ,including ,the wildest of them all,"Crin-Blanc ".But the two movies have the same conclusion: both Folco and Pascal cannot live in the men's world and both escape from their world,one flew over Paris with his magic balloon and the other returned to the (new christening?) waters of the river with his mythical horse.

This comment will be a little personal: I was 6 or 7 years old when I went for the first time to a cinema and Crin Blanc was was then the first film I saw on a large cinema screen (at home we got our first television set at the beginning of the sixties). As far as I can remember it was a nice story of a boy and a wild horse in the Camargue.The director was Albert Lamorisse and another important name: Edmond Séchan, the director of photography of this film. Very beautiful images of horses and the landscapes of the Camargue.