Le fils de la jument blanche

I'd been meaning to check this one out for a while, so was excited to see that it's now been remastered and released in the US on blu ray. I convinced my kids to watch it by suggesting that it would be a good Halloween choice-there is a descent into the underworld, after all-but it's not so much creepy as foreboding. The movie claims to have a basis in ancient Hungarian/Avar myth (and hey, the title does include a horse in it), presumably oral, but I haven't been able to find its actual source anywhere. The myth itself is strange and hard to follow, but majestic, driven less by the sparse Hungarian narration than the amazing visuals, which have made the movie famous. A constantly transforming mix of rectilinear shapes and curves, with lively light play and lightening, frame all the characters and their environment, and fits the cosmological myth perfectly. I'm also curious how the animation was produced-in many of the scenes it seems like no animation cel background was used, in others almost like there was a "foreground". Anyway, respect to my kids: the film was not what they were expecting, but they got into it, especially towards the end, and stuck with it over three nights or so, all while dealing with subtitling.

Marcell Jankovics claimed he never used drugs but the entire movie is exactly like a psychedelic LSD trip. The story is full of symbols, but these somehow come from the common heritage and can be understood by instinct. Just like a dream. It is not a piece of art what can be digested easily but those who has sense of psychedelism will love and never forget this movie. I don't want to advise directly how a person can enhance further the effect of the movie but it is not hard to find out what I mean.

Mind-blowing animation experience!!!

The level of artistry is unbelievable. Marcell Jankovics uses every millisecond to add something new and fascinating. So if possible, do not blink while watching this film.

I had no idea what to expect while starting but in the first 3 minutes it took me to a new, symbol filled, psychedelic new dimension. Maybe the best thing about the movie is, even though it's a heavy art bombardment with non-stop transitions between symbols, you never lose the story. Somehow, you can understand every little detail (most of the time unconsciously). I believe it's a great achievement.

It also manages to talk to your primitive side. Since it's a mix of ancient tales, you somehow feel a connection to what's told in an instinctive way. You may get this kind of feeling in Tom Moore's flicks like "Song of The Sea" and "The Secret of Kells". But in "Son of the White Mare" it's so raw and different like it was made by our ancestors, thousands of years ago.

In an age where they use same well-researched story structures over and over, seeing something this uniquely told and majestic makes you feel renewed. It's a must-see for everyone. And the best news is, you can watch it on Youtube!!!

This is remarkable just for going so far out on a limb in terms of feature animation--an entire movie (Hungarian yet!) of sort of Peter Max-type psychedelic visuals in almost blinding day-glo colors. If you were to watch it very stoned on a big screen, it would probably be an incredible experience. Watched sober on a smaller screen, it's basically 80 minutes of very pretty, groovy graphics that are nonetheless somewhat monotonous in impact. The style is a lot like vintage 60s/70s poster art, more about creating a striking design than providing any detailed sense of character or story. So the heroes' quest (based on Hungarian folk tales) is not very involving or exciting, even when they combat dragons--everything is tastefully (if also eye-poppingly) abstract, the protagonists are not much more expressive than stick figures. "White Mane" is a singular achievement, and I'm glad it was made. But it's easier to admire than to love.

It was a pleasant surprise seeing folk tales I grew up with come to life. I guess Hungarian folk tales influenced Romanian folk tales, or maybe they share the same source. It's not just the same numerology symbolism, storytelling and dialogues; the Romanian folk tales I used to read when I was a kid are virtually identical with everything depicted in this animation. Brilliant psychedelic imagery (nice experiments with shapes and colors), brilliant storytelling and even some subtle humor moments. This animation should be sent in space as radio signals or something, because I pretty much consider it the essence of the human spirit, an excellent depiction of primordial human philosophy.