Son of the White Mare
Her mane billowing as she gallops through the snowy forest, the white mare carries within her unborn third son, born like a flame and shaped like the stars of the constellations above, growing to become a human child at the foot of the tree of seventy-seven roots and seventy-seven branches, raised on his mother’s milk and her tales of gods and dragons.
Grown to be a man, the son of the white mare is known as Fanyüvő (Treeshaker), able to tear trees from the ground and setting out to rescue the three princess of the stories his mother told him before her death, finding along the way his two brothers Kőmorzsoló (Stonecrumbler) and Vasgyúró (Irontemperer) who join him on his quest across fields of ice and rock, seeking the hidden entrance to the Underworld.
An epic animated mythological adventure inspired by the Hungarian folk tale Fehérlófia (literally White Bear), Son of the White Mare was produced over two years before its release in 1981, directed by Marcell Jankovics and now released on Blu-ray from a 4K digital restoration approved by Jankovics as part of Eureka’s Masters of Cinema series, making it widely available on a physical format for the first time in a generation.
The animation in constant motion with elements blending into each other and shifting form, the delineation between backgrounds and objects blurring in a metamorphic dream, there are recollections of the more abstract scenes of Fantasia or the opening moments of Watership Down, but Son of the White Mare is the reflection of a different culture crafted by the vision of a unique filmmaker, colourful and mesmerising.
The narrative repetitive as is the nature of fairy tales such as the iterations of Goldilocks’ discoveries, each of the three princesses is held hostage by a dragon who first feasts with Fanyüvő then fights with him in scenes of images which echo the monstrosities of The Wall designed by Gerald Scarfe, bringing in elements of modern warfare and brutalist architecture which frame the myth of endless struggle in a contemporary context.
The supporting features offering interviews with Jankovics who came to animation quite by chance, he speaks of his love of The Beatles and the influence of Yellow Submarine on his first feature, János vitéz (Johnny Corncob) of 1973, also included on this disc along with three shorts, Sisyphus of 1974, Küzdők (The Struggle), a fascinating piece of art and artist of 1977, and Dreams on Wings, a promotional film for Air India of desirable destinations.
Son of the White Mare is available on Bu-ray Eureka now
