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White Mane (Released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection)
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Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
Find all by Criterion Collection
Directed By: Albert Lamorisse
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Theatrical Release: November 20, 2008
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
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Starring: White Mane
In the south of France, in a near-desert region called La Camargue, lives White Mane, a magnificent stallion and the leader of a herd of wild horses too proud to let themselves be broken in by humans. Only Folco, a young fisherman, manages to tame him. A strong friendship grows between the boy and the horse, as the two go looking for the freedom that the world of men won t allow them. Long unavailable in the U.S., this extraordinarily shot wonder from Albert Lamorisse, the director of The Red Balloon, is a work of technical sophistication and immense natural beauty.
User Submitted White Mane (Released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection) Reviews
November 1, 2008
Check out Criterion's 'Red Balloon/White Mane' DVD
In April, 2008 Criterion released three DVDs each with one award winning children's shorts for the first time from beautifully restored prints. In November 2008, Criterion's bare bones DVD of Albert Lamorisse's award winning 'White Mane' (1953) will be getting a new release, but this time 'White Mane' will be paired with Albert Lamorisse's award winning 'The Red Balloon' (1956).
This coupled DVD would be a wonderful present for any little child (young or old).
Again, from the total run time of just 74 minutes, nothing extra will be added outside of (one would hope) the brief printed liner notes for both found in the single DVD version, plus one theatrical trailer celebrating the 50 year restoration for both shorts.
The third short not in this new release, but available separately, is William Mason's 'Paddle to the Sea' (1966). This 28 minute children's short won Best Documentary Film at the International Children's Film Festival in 1968. You also might want to look into that one.
I hope you catch this deal. I wish I had.
July 6, 2008
Magnificent
I have seen this film several times in a theater or classroom and enjoyed it. But Criterion produced a much sharper image than I had ever seen before. We watched it with a woman who works with horses, and she was amazed at the horses in the film. The fighting scenes were excellent, and she marvelled at White Mane in the fire. The boy Falco is still a wonderful character to watch, pure and determined. Their escape into the water is tragic to watch. What joy when your previously enthusiastic pleasure increases through a fresh viewing.
June 9, 2008
White Mane
White Mane is the name of a wild horse living in a barren region of Southern France, the leader of a herd of horses. Some "gauchos" try to capture him and do, for a time, but he escapes. He is seen by a young boy who eventually befriends him and brings him to his home, which he shares with an old man and a baby sister. The family has other pets, such as turtles and a flamingo. Unfortunately, the gauchos haven't given up their quest to capture the beautiful horse. This somewhat sad tale is lightened considerably by its beautiful photography and by its straightforward tone. It is told in the manner of a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, and would be suitable and recommended for children, with parental guidance, and adults.
June 4, 2008
Boy and Horse clash with the adult world
A boy and a horse clash with greedy and dishonest adults. They go off into the sea and one hopes they find a better place (rather than dying).
May 15, 2008
Bittersweet beauty
A companion to the same director's classic "The Red Balloon," this exquisite film probably wouldn't be made for children today ... and that's a pity. Children, simply by being younger, smaller, and weaker than the adult world around them, are already well aware of cruelty. They all understand what it is to be bullied, to be targeted for being different, to have to fight when they'd rather just be left alone. "White Mane" presents this fact of life not brutally, or mercilessly -- but honestly.
And it offers more, as well. The lyrical beauty of the film, the gorgeous black & white photography, the astonishingly expressive face of the boy Folco, all remind us that if there's unfairness in the world, there's also something sublime & deeply moving in it as well -- if only we look for it & see it. And it offers the consolation of art, and of storytelling itself.
I understand the misgivings of some regarding the film's ending. It's ambiguous at best, a harsh reminder that the sensitive of this world are often hounded by those who don't (or won't) understand them, and thus do their best to destroy them. But children can't be protected by denying that sad fact. If anything, a film like this probably enables them to deal with it better.
Adult viewers will savor the poetry, but also shake their heads in doleful recognition. It's a poignant gem of a film, most highly recommended!
May 14, 2008
Could be the Most Beautiful Black and White Cinematography Ever
I gasp at the beauty of this film...the only way to describe it is to imagine a nature photograph of Edward Weston or Ansel Adams coming to life. The story is simple enough. A wild horse that runs free in the South of France is captured by some French "cowboys", yet refuses to be tamed and breaks free. Despite several efforts of the cowboys to retrieve this pick of the horses, White Mane will only allow himself to be handled by a young boy - the son of a fisherman in harmony with nature. But it is not the story that makes this film sing...it is the combination of some of the most beautiful, lyrical images I have ever seen on the screen, the folk music of the South of France, and the very sparse narration in the French language. So therefore, it is a film where nature in the raw unfolds before our eyes...without distractions of unnecessary conversation or sentimental music.
A few words about the fighting among the horses. Everyone knows this is common to determine status and rank in the herd. That is reality...in the animal world and, alas, in the human world also. What the film does is depict "White Man" as he truly is, wild. untamed, and even a little brutal.
This is poetry in film, plain and simple. This is allegory. And it is even ballet as the music - when it is played - is coordinated so perfectly with the movement of the cowboys or the horse. If you are someone who finds joy in watching a jackrabbit scampering along the cracked earth with a wild stallion accompanying his rhythms, then this is the film for you.
May 6, 2008
Timely and True
Albeit this film may not be for more squeamish or very young children, it is something that most kids could relate to. Children like to see other kids being independent and doing things like tame horses and defy wayward adults. The depiction of animals is quite interesting and can provoke reactions of surprise as to the fluid and graceful moves of horses. The horse fighting might be too intense for some kids, but it is depicted as a natural behavior of horses and shows that there are pecking orders in all species. Kids who are having a difficult time in their own lives navigating the pecking order of school and other authority will relate especially well to this film. Sometimes just being understood can be a great morale boost to a troubled child.
May 1, 2008
Disappointing for animal lovers
After reading the other reviews, I was very anxious to see this movie. I was greatly disappointed. While the black and white scenery is amazing, the graphic fighting of horses and the cruelty with which the herdsmen chase the horse is very sad. The ending is surprisingly wrong. This is not a movie for children or animal lovers.
February 21, 2008
A captivating film for the child in each of us.
After first seeing them as a child, I recently experienced a theatrical double feature of the beautifully restored prints of The Red Balloon and White Mane, soon to be released by Janus Films in newly-restored DVD format. (The Criterion Collection released a laserdisc of the films in 1986.) French award-winning filmmaker, Albert Lamorisse is best known for The Red Balloon (Le Ballon rouge) (1956), which not only earned him the Palme d'Or Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, but an Oscar that same year (the only dialogue-free film ever to win the award). His forty-seven minute film, White Mane (also known as Crin-Blanc, Crin Blanc, and Cheval Sauvage) (1953), also won numerous awards when it was released, including the the Palme d'Or Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. White Mane follows the adventures of a young boy named Folco (Alain Emery), who befriends an untamable wild white stallion named White Mane in the marshes of Camargue, France. When (in a scene reminiscent of Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar) a gang of ranchers try to spook White Mane by setting fire to the area he lives, Folco jumps on White Mane and rides him bareback across the marshes of Camargue and over the sparse dunes to an island where horses and children coexist as friends forever. This is an equally poignant and truly enchanting film that will captivate children of all ages.
G. Merritt
January 31, 2008
A minor classic
I saw this movie very many years ago, and the magic remains. Albert Lamorisse crafted a simple tale, almost without words, of a fisher-boy in France's Camargue region, and his love for the wild white stallion whose independence and freedom is threatened by man. The black and white photography is luminous, dazzling with its intense beauty. And the film's ending will stay with you forever.
Criterion is releasing on two separate DVDs two short movies by Lamorisse shot around the same time -- this one, and the better-known 'Balloon Rouge' or 'Red Balloon', made a handful of years later. Such a shame these two films, which total just 90 minutes together, could not have been released together on just one disc. 'Crin Blanc' is the finer of the two. It is a film for all people, of all ages.
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