Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Black Stallion


Riding on the heels (hooves?) of White Mane, I really wanted the kids to see a favorite horse movie from my own childhood, The Black Stallion. Released in 1979, the film is based on Walter Farley’s classic book series of the same name. Legendary film critic Pauline Kael once said, The Black Stallion “may be the greatest children's movie ever made.” And while such claims are always arguable, one can’t deny this movie is stunningly beautiful, well acted, and truly captivating.

Set in 1946, the story begins on a cruise ship sailing off the coast of North Africa. Wandering the ship at night while his father plays cards, a young passenger named Alec discovers a black horse onboard in a makeshift stable. The horse bucks and fights against his rope restraints, held by a group of shouting men. Alec later brings the horse some sugar cubes, pushing them through a small window. The men are gone, and the wild horse gently takes Alec’s offering.

Later that evening, Alec and his father are awakened when the ship begins to pitch and fill with water. A fire breaks out onboard, and in the chaos Alec cuts the horse free from its restraints, the horse jumps overboard, and Alec himself is thrown from the ship. Struggling in the dark waters, illuminated by the raging fire, Alec grabs on to the horse’s ropes, while in the background the burning ship goes down.

This was definitely a frightening scene for the kids, especially when Alec becomes separated from his father, who is trying to help him to safety, but also feels compelled to help put out the fire. Some may find the opening scenes too scary for their kids, in which case you can always fast forward.

We watched the whole scene, and to me the most disturbing part was when one of the men who had been restraining the horse violently snatches Alec’s life vest from him—a true “bad guy” move. Also problematic about this scene: The guy is Arab, wears a turban, and I am sensitive to the kids’ exposure to portrayals of people of different races or cultures as evil. Note to self: Find positive portrayals of Arab people in other films.

In the end, Alec and the horse are the only survivors from the ship, and both end up on a deserted island. So begins the best part of this film, and what I most remember from watching it as a child over 30 years ago. Alec must contend with the loss of his father, his aloneness, and his need to survive in a completely foreign environment. Wandering the island, he discovers the stallion caught up in its own ropes among rocks. Alec again frees the stallion and it runs off. The scenes that follow show Alec’s patient, clever, and gentle efforts to tame the stallion, set against the stunning natural backdrop of the island.

As Alec is alone, there is no dialogue for a long section of the film, and compared to many children’s films, the pacing is slow—beautifully slow. The cinematography during the island scenes is gorgeous, with very memorable scenes of Alec and the stallion running together along the beach, and one especially exciting scene where the stallion rescues Alec from a deadly cobra.

Finally, Alec is rescued by some fishermen and insists that the horse come with him. He returns home to his mother in the U.S., and another chapter begins as he befriends a retired jockey (Mickey Rooney), who trains Alec and his horse (whom he names “The Black”) to race. The second half of the film, while also shot and acted with skill, unfolds with a fairly predictable story, a highly implausible race in which the young boy, in a mask, rides “the mystery horse” and (you guessed it) wins!

I found my attention waning, but the kids were enthralled. I don’t think either of them had ever seen a horse race, even on TV, so this was very exciting to them, as was the idea of young Alec working hard and training to compete with far more experienced adults.

But most importantly, as in White Mane, the friendship between boy and horse in The Black Stallion is well developed and offers a touching and compelling story that I imagine all kids would enjoy and relate to.

In fact, I’d better watch out with the horse movies, or requests for riding lessons may be in our future!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

White Mane (Crin Blanc)

First up in our exploration of classic children’s cinema: White Mane. Directed by Albert Lamorisse, this acclaimed 1952 black and white, French language film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and has been revered as a classic of French cinema. It is available as part of the Criterion Collection.

All this means nothing to the kids, though. As the opening credits rolled, my six-year-old daughter, in her new going-on-thirteen voice, demanded, “Is it ALL in black and white? Is it going to be BORING?” Just watch, just watch and see, I said.

In no time at all, she and her almost three-year-old brother and seven-year-old friend were completely engrossed. The film is in French, so I read the subtitles out loud. Dialogue and narration are both sparse, so this wasn’t an issue. As for black and white and boring, also not an issue. The film has lots of intrigue and action and at times is even quite tense.

The story takes place in the south of France, in a stark but beautiful landscape of marshland, in a region called the Camargue. There, a magnificent stallion, White Mane, leads a herd of wild horses who roam the land, evading capture by a dogged group of ranchers on horseback.
Nearby, a boy named Folco lives in an isolated shack with his grandfather and baby brother. Folco identified in the narration as “the young fisherman” is shown alone on his skiff, fishing and making his way across the marsh. 

My kids were intrigued by the idea of a young boy so independent and with real responsibilities. In one scene, Folco arrives home to his shack and brings his little brother a turtle, and in another he captures a rabbit and cooks it over an open fire. These documentary-like scenes of the boy’s everyday life definitely piqued my kids’ interest. Then of course there are the many beautifully shot scenes of wild horses—what kid would not love these?

Ultimately, the ranchers fail to break White Mane and young Folco befriends and tames the stallion through sheer determination and a healthy dose of kindness. However, beyond the touching bond between boy and horse, the film delves into darker territory, showing that adults can be cruel, deceptive, and ruthless in their pursuits. We were all on edge through several scenes as the marauding men on horseback chased White Mane, even setting a raging grass fire to drive him out. In one scene, White Mane and a rival stallion engage in a violent and very real fight, kicking and biting each other bloody. In this scene, the black and white film is a particular blessing.

The darkest moment, though, is the ending, in which (spoiler alert!) the men chase Folco and White Mane to a point where a river meets the ocean, and the two are swept out to sea, presumably to their deaths. I was shocked at this seemingly pessimistic ending to a children’s film. Yet, at the same time, the final scene was poetic, and the kids were far less bothered by it than I was. The narrator states that White Mane took Folco to a far-away land where men and horses could live as friends, and the kids took this information literally. To a child, who lives in a world of fantasy, the ending could be seen as magical and comforting. The adult viewer, however, will more likely feel the deeper emotional impact of watching a boy and his horse being swallowed by crashing waves. That is part of the genius of this film.

Our final take: The kids and I really, really liked White Mane, and it gave us much to talk about, raising questions around wild horses and the boy’s lifestyle, as well as more philosophical concerns about what propels men to pursue the unattainable, and why they need to “break” a wild animal. Ultimately this film is a true work of art, and I look forward to watching Albert Lamorisse’s other children’s classic of the same era, The Red Balloon, very soon. More on that another day…

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Watching Movies with My Kids

I used to love going to the movies. In a past life, I studied film history, frequented film festivals, read reviews, kept abreast of the latest indie releases. But something happened… what was it now? … Oh yes, I had two kids and became totally consumed with parenthood. Nowadays my husband and I make it to a theater a couple of times a year. Our Netflix cue can go for weeks unattended.

But lately I’ve been thinking, what about watching movies with my kids? I mean, actually watching them—not just popping in an occasional video to buy myself an hour to cook dinner, but really making an effort to find great films that I would like too. To tell the truth, most contemporary kids’ films send me scurrying from the room to do housework. Yes, I would rather clean the toilet than watch most of the children’s movies out there today.

So, I am wondering, would an almost three-year-old and a six-year-old be willing to watch what I like—classics, foreign-language films, long-form documentaries, independent and art films?

I need to find out, because in our house, TV and movies have become a source of guilt and conflict for me. I had this unrealistic idea, early on in parenthood, that my kids would be "screen free"—no video or computer games, no TV and only limited and carefully selected movies. There are plenty of studies that document the harmful effects of excessive screen time on today's youth. And compared to most kids, mine probably do watch less.

But the thing is, they really, really want it. And they wear me down begging to watch movies, and because I have not stocked our video library (because I had no intention of allowing videos in the first place), I turn to the same hand-me-down videos they've been watching for years, movies that I didn't pick out, and that I personally don't want to watch again (and again).

It's all so uninspiring. So now I'm coming around to the idea that finding really great films for them to watch makes more sense than sheltering my kids from anything with a flickering image. I want my kids to have a trained and critical eye for viewing media, and I would love for them to have an appreciation for film as an art form.

I love movies, so why shouldn’t my kids?

So we’re going to start watching some movies together. I’m thinking of it as a Kids' Film 101 course for them and me. I’ll be hunting down foreign and lesser-known films, revisiting classics from my own childhood, and looking for modern-day classics as well. I’ll be posting here on our reviews and impressions. Hopefully we’ll find some great stuff. I kind of think we will.