Son of the White Mare

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.

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.

My first impression is I really wish I had had this blu ray back in college when I would hang out with my favorite film school friend who was into super surrealist/abstract art (and his cool roommates) for many stoned hours with watch like Hawking and David Gilmour present: Fractals and the 2001 Jupiter sequence synced to Echoes. Clearly, Marcel Jankovics and his crew pool through fluid, Slippery, angular and playfully metaphorical animation (notice the Dragon looks more like a city or many steel buildings in one) a monumental synthesis of myths we may not be familiar with but absolutely are familiar with is a peak of those kinds of times.

Second impression: Jankovics isn't creating a terribly complex story, and I get if that doesn't draw some into this, but to put it bluntly I don't mind. I don't need this to give me the Feels ala Pixar, I wanted something going in that could challenge how the medium of animation could be challenged and transformed and even transcended, and he and his crew did that and then some. I'm not even sure how many in the world of more modern animation have seen it, but it's hard not to see its influence on like 85% of Adult Swim and even some Anime. But it doesn't need to be remarked upon as influential to be something so compelling; it's through how it makes Myths feel vital that counts, how Shapes and color and the movement of forms is one thing, and finding new ways to create and make new forms is another.

It reminds me of how when one learns about old myths in school, even back to foundational ones like Gilgamesh, that it can sometimes take a little time (maybe too much depending on the teacher) to get into what makes them work. Jankovics doesn't have that problem because he has the propulsion of immersing us in the experience of... wherever this is supposed to be in these kingdoms and forests and what seems like a far out cosmos, places where a Gnome with a Beard can be congruous with a woman who has many tears to shed because of all the time with that seven headed dragon.

It's trippy, maybe the trippiest/trance-inducing movie ever made (a friend I watched it with remarked that this could very well be what we could've gotten with Jodorowsky's Dune), but it doesn't lose sight, at least to me, of the heroes journey and making it a feast for the senses. If they had only managed to snag a Prog-Rock group to do the soundtrack, I guarantee it would have been a Midnight Movie with success on par with the rest of them.

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!!!

Alright! We're talking about high-quality movie-making here! Its experimental way is the films strongest feature. Or its keenness about traditionalism? Its up to you, to decide which pars you like better: the funky, vibrant colors, and wacky-trippy movement, or the heavy use of traditional, middle-European folk ornaments?

The white mare give gives birth to a son once again, who grows to be strong enough, to defeat the evil ones, who keep the three beautiful princess' as captives... and even, to find his long lost, and just as powerful brothers on his journey.

The plot for this one has been mixed together, from folktales all around the globe (but mostly, they're from middle-Europe, and eastern, nomad tribes), which makes the story familiar for almost everyone, from everywhere. It reaches back into our most ancient collective memories, and bring up something, that might even be forgotten.

The new-age look of some aspects of this movie, and the respect for folk traditions, surprisingly makes a totally coherent, and unbelievably powerful whole. Which makes it Marcell Jankovics's best directional work ever. This film earned his righteous place, amongst the "world's best fifty animated-films ever", at Los Angeles' animation Olympic.

Anyone, who likes animation, experimental film-making, or just GOOD MOVIES, simply must see this one. No exceptions!