Crin blanc : le cheval sauvage

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.

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.

Not quite as great as The Red Balloon and not as well-known, but White Mane is almost as good and does deserve to be better known than it is. It is a gorgeous-looking film, with the marshlands being both handsome and austere(emphasising the wildness of the two main characters and their adventures) and the black and white photography really is some of the best I've ever seen. White Mane is sensitively scored with a lovely whimsical tone, while the narration is thoughtfully written and poetic, telling the story without trying to explain too much. White Mane has a very sweet and touching story, the wonder of childhood is really charmingly depicted and the film shows also the beauty of nature that will leave one inspired. What was also appealing was the relationship between the boy and the horse which is what anchors the film, a familiar idea but you really do feel the friendship and love between the two. The pacing is deliberate but that said White Mane never came across as dull personally, the relationship between the boy and the horse, the way the film looked and how easy it was to get into the story and its emotions were utterly transfixing. Albert Lamorisse's direction is sensitive and in keeping with White Mane's poetic tone and the acting is great, especially from Alain Emery. He looked adorable and gives a spirited and touching performance, there are scenes where he doesn't say a word but his body language, eyes and face are genuinely telling throughout. The horse was clearly well-trained as well, and the chemistry between the two of them was magic. All in all, immensely charming and beautiful but also sadly criminally underrated. The Red Balloon is slightly better but if you loved that film you will find a huge amount to love about White Mane. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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.

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.