There currently seems to be a resurgence of interest in animated fantasy features not intended for children, with THE SPINE OF NIGHT enjoying a recent festival run followed by streaming and Blu-ray releases, and the ultra-violent UNICORN WARS still currently receiving deservedly rave reviews on the festival circuit.
So it makes sense that older movies are being brought out of the vaults, dusted off, and given Blu-ray releases. One such example is Hungarian film-maker Marcell Jankovics' SON OF THE WHITE MARE, a feature-length animated film that took three years to make and which is now getting a Blu-ray release from Eureka.
The story is based on mythic folk tales, some of them Hungarian, and tells the story of Treeshaker, a man born of a horse, who has to defeat evil dragons that have taken over the world. He enlists the aid of his two brothers, Stonecrumbler and Ironrubber, and together they set off for the underworld. During their quest they encounter princesses to be rescued, an evil gnome, a griffin, and other mythical creatures.
The style of animation employed in SON OF THE WHITE MARE is possibly best described as 'trippy', as the stills used to illustrate this review hopefully demonstrate. Some may find the whole 86 minutes of its bright colours and swirling animation to be really quite the brain-frying experience. One imagines a unique film-maker like Panos Cosmatos (BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW, MANDY) being inspired by it, and if you love his films you'll definitely want to check this out.
Extras include Jankovics' first feature Johnny Corncob (which runs 78 minutes and there's also a three minute making of on the disc), Sisyphus (2 mins), The Struggle (2 mins), and Dreams on Wings (an 8 minute ad for Air India). You also get a 33 minutes interview with Jankovics from 2020, and a 10 minute featurette on the director by the Hungarian Film Archive.
Marcell Jankovics' SON OF THE WHITE MARE is out on Blu-ray from Eureka on Monday 14th November 2022
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