At long last, Marcell Jankovics’ music-filled animated fantasy trip Son of the White Mare will receive an official U.S. release four decades after it first hit screens — albeit with a virtual twist, here in the year 2020. Part psychedelia, part epic, the 1981 Hungarian movie follows the three sons of the titular White Mare goddess on a mythic quest to slay monsters and rescue three princesses from the Underworld.
“I feel happy and satisfied,” Jankovics told Forbes. “Back in 1981 when it premiered, based on its reception, it was premature. While it made it into the best films of all time at the 1984 Animation Olympics in Los Angeles, the general public hadn’t encountered it yet. I must say that the times have caught up with the film.”
The hand-drawn movie has been restored in 4K from the original 35mm negatives and sound elements by Arbelos — which previously brought the long-awaited return of Belladonna of Sadness to the States — in collaboration with the Hungarian National Film Institute – Film Archive and in consultation with Jankovics.
Synopsis: One of the great psychedelic masterpieces of world animation, Son of the White Mare is a swirling, color-mad maelstrom of mythic monsters and Scythian heroes, part-Nibelungenlied, part-Yellow Submarine, lit by jagged bolts of lightning and drenched in rivers of blue, red, gold and green. A massive cosmic oak stands at the gates of the Underworld, holding seventy-seven dragons in its roots; to combat these monsters, a dazzling white mare goddess gives birth to three heroes – Treeshaker and his brothers – who embark on an epic journey to save the universe.
Son of the White Mare – Official Trailer (4K Restoration) from Arbelos on Vimeo.
Boldly colorful and geometric in its visuals, Son of the White Mare has long been lauded for its transportative blend of energetic, whirling animation and otherworldly soundscapes (created by composer & sound designer István Vajda, who also helped with the restoration project).
“My idea was to make it all dream-like since this is a tale that would have been told to children at bedtime long ago,” the 78-year-old filmmaker continued. “… My audience was originally made up of little kids. Many of the kids under eight became addicted [to it] thanks to the whirring noises and orgy of colors. I’ve received the biggest compliment — and also vindication — from a six-year-old boy, who, when questioned by his father, said: ‘This is like one of my dreams.’”
Son of the White Mare is rolling out in virtual screenings presented in partnership with theaters around the country starting Friday, August 21.
Release info available at arbelosfilms.com/distribution/films/son-of-the-white-mare
[Source: Forbes]
