bts1984 Apparently there are two versions of this shorty: a 47-minute version and a 38-minute version. But I can only find the one with 38 minutes, where is the other one, if it really exists? Plus, if there really is a longer version, I wonder what it contains that the shorter one doesn't.There is a lot to like about this short, especially for those who love horses. Without being a huge fan of horses, I like them and admire their formidable strength, imponence and pride.This small film is very well-made and filmed. The black and white suits it so nicely. The rural scenario is gorgeous, thanks to the natural beauty of Camargue.This is the story of Crin Blanc, a white stallion that is wild, fearless, carefree, runs like the wind, despises humans, refuses to get caught and doesn't let anyone ride him. In other words, the lead horse is wild like all the other horses seen in it, however it is the leader of the herd. It is a nice-looking stallion but behind its beauty and elegance lies a fearsome leader, a proud and suspicious horse which doesn't like and trust in people and doesn't hesitate to look down on them with arrogance, a stubborn and determined horse which, more than never letting itself get caught, doesn't let itself get caught by nothing in this world. That is, until the day he meets a brave kid. The task is anything but easy, yet the boy quickly wins the heart and confidence of the majestic stallion, after some initial resistance and despite the strength of its wild instincts. Though very different from each other, Crin Blanc, the boy and the ranchers have one thing in common: their determination. My description might sound a bit of a criticism, but it's not. Good thing it is like that, otherwise it'd become another victim of human cruelty. While we never know why those four ranchers wanted to capture it for, we can assume that they'd make money out of it somehow, possibly in inhuman ways.Everything feels authentic in this short. For good and for bad. As a matter fact, certain scenes are pretty violent and even creepy.As with 'Le Ballon Rouge' (itself by Albert Lamorisse either), this one is silent most of the time but not completely wordless because some lines are delivered. This one's even got a little more dialog than 'Le Ballon Rouge'. Still, there aren't many dialogs, which means that to understand it without subtitles is not much of a problem, although it's always better having subtitles in order to understand it better.The ending is something of a mystery: do the kid and the horse die? At least that's what strongly implied in the narrator's words: «Crin Blanc took Folco to a land where horses and children can be friends forever.» Alain Emery is superb as the boy and his face and eyes are so expressive that they speak more than the few words and sounds he ever delivers.This little movie is aimed at those who likes quality films but also to anyone who is into animals. To love, trust, take care and have a friendship and physical contact with animals (whatever the animal is) and win their heart in return is one of the best sensations in the world. Anyone who loves animals (no matter the animal in question) knows what I'm talking about. I should talk, because I'm a sucker for animals myself.Title in Portugal: 'Crina Branca' (the Portuguese really lack the skills to do translations, don't they?).

Howard Schumann A young pre-teen is protective of a wild horse that is the target of horse traders in Albert Lamorisse's exquisite black and white film White Mane. The short 40-minute film, winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1953, preceded the director's masterpiece The Red Balloon by three years but is as simple, haunting and magical, telling a story of friendship and love that is filled with wonder and the innocence of a child's imagination. The film is set in the Camargue region in the southwest of France where marshes and barren landscapes convey a sense both of awe-inspiring beauty and of hardship and unexpected danger.The horse, known as White Mane, though small is not weak and stands out for his fierce independence and disdain of man. He loves to run with the pack and refuses to be reigned in and controlled by the local ranchers who react to his willfulness with growing impatience and confusion. The boy, a fisherman named Folco (Alain Emery), lives close by in a small fishing village with his grandfather and younger brother (played by Pascal Lamorisse, the director's son who later played the boy in The Red Balloon) and watches the struggles of the men trying to tame the wild horse.Folco, though small and slender, has many of the defiant qualities of the horse but is also gentle and very loving. His desire is not only to protect White Mane from the ranchers but to tame him and claim him as his own and the film explores their relationship which develops into one of friendship and mutual trust. One of the outstanding sequences in the film is the fight between White Mane and another stallion for leadership of the herd. Another great scene is when Folco lassos the horse who, startled, runs off, dragging the boy behind him through the mud. At last, the horse stops running and looks back at the mud-covered little boy as the two sense an immediate and intimate connection.The ending is dark, perhaps too dark for many children, demanding of them a complexity that they perhaps are incapable of at a tender age. Yet the film does not patronize, introducing the viewer to the notion that standing up for what is right regardless of the outcome is one of the most important things in life and does not depend on age or strength. The poetic narration, delivered by Jean-Pierre Grenier and co-written by the acclaimed author and film critic James Agee, adds an extra dimension of sensitivity to the film that the viewer, whether child or adult, can immediately respond to. White Mane is a truly gorgeous film that will remain with you.

rjyelverton "White Mane" follows Folco, a boy fisherman living in the marshes of France. He spots a striking white stallion while working and tries to approach the horse. White Mane, a leader of a pack of wild horses, evades the boy, but the two will meet again. White Mane is also trying to elude ranch hands who are attempting to capture and break the wild horse. As the horse evades the men, he warms to Folco who desires a friend more than workhorse.The film's nature scenes are fantastic and the moments where White Mane fights for leadership of his clan are fascinating and brutal. Animals were clearly injured in the making of this film, but I do not get the impression that LaMorisse staged the fight for pack leader. The fight is brutal with the horses biting one another in an attempt to dominate. Its a nice corrective to the sanitized friendly horse image splashed across lunch box and Trapper Keeper."White Mane" is presented in black and white and the scenes of Folco and his family are reminiscent of the familial moments from Ray's Apu Trilogy, unadorned and quietly observant. Storytelling is handled by a narrator who maybe gives us false hope in the film's conclusion. I was reminded of "Pan's Labyrinth" which presented two possible fates for its child hero. "White Mane" does the same, but I could not shake the feeling that the narrator was lying to me. Given the film's seemingly solid placement in the mundane, its insistence on the fantastic in its conclusion strikes the viewer as false. Ironic? Not likely, but maybe LaMorisse is trying to let his child viewers down easily.

rstauber-1 I was almost seven years old. My paternal Nana took me to see this movie in the Chicago Loop in 1952. White Mane was a short film accompanying the latest version of Heidi which she wanted me to see on account of my Gramps being of Switzerdietsch extraction and all. Aside from a vague recollection of poor Heidi stashing hard-rolls up in her closet, I don't remember the movie in any detail. I guess it was pretty, ya, mit edelweiss and everything. White Mane, on the other hand, left a lasting impression on me as a kid: self-sacrifice for love of another being. The realization that the consequences of some actions could result in DEATH. A new concept of DEATH for a seven-year-old. Greed can result in death...and so forth. In short, the ending of the movie (SPOILER COMING NOW) where the kid rides his beloved White Mane into the Mediterranean to avoid capture by his pursuers (c.f., Masada, etc.) freaked me out. But in a good way, and with a lesson. Sort of like Invaders from Mars taught me to distrust the military and by extension the government, and The Night of the Hunter taught me to be wary of anyone calling himself "Preacher," and Lolita taught me to distrust anyone with two last names! And Psycho taught me never to bathe....I guess I'll have to watch White Mane again to see if I remembered any of it right.