The second of Romanian animator Anca Damian's self-dubbed "tales of heroism," following her poignant "Crulic: The Path to Beyond", the ambitious "Magic Mountain" is a work of overwhelming artistry. It is couched as a dialogue between Adam Jacek Winkler (1937-2002), a Polish expat and Don Quixote-like figure who fought with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Soviets, and his daughter Anna. Based on Winkler's journals, artwork and the story of his life, which he once recorded on a Dictaphone, it evokes the powerful personality of an individualist and a romantic, who sometimes had to live outside the law due to his love of independence and his beliefs.
For the rich and varied visual style, Damian and her crack team of animators take inspiration from Winkler's naive paintings and photos from Afghanistan, alongside a multitude of elements from Afghan art and landscapes, as well as images from war and the activism of the 1960s. They graphically modify them in various styles: sometimes merely as sketches, at other times in eye-catching gouache or watercolour, and elsewhere via animated sequences in 2D and 3D. There are also clever references to the history of film amid the deluge of images.
A haunting score from the Bucharest-born, London-based composer-violinist Alexander Balanescu perfectly complements the film.
Romania / France / Poland 2015
Magic Mountain
La montagne magique
MS12
Genre
Animation, Documentary, Biography
Director
Anca Damian
Run time
1h 30min
Cast
Christophe Miossec, Lizzie Brochere
Genre
Animation, Documentary, Biography
Director
Anca Damian
Run time
1h 30min
Cast
Christophe Miossec, Lizzie Brochere
The second of Romanian animator Anca Damian's self-dubbed "tales of heroism," following her poignant "Crulic: The Path to Beyond", the ambitious "Magic Mountain" is a work of overwhelming artistry. It is couched as a dialogue between Adam Jacek Winkler (1937-2002), a Polish expat and Don Quixote-like figure who fought with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Soviets, and his daughter Anna. Based on Winkler's journals, artwork and the story of his life, which he once recorded on a Dictaphone, it evokes the powerful personality of an individualist and a romantic, who sometimes had to live outside the law due to his love of independence and his beliefs.
For the rich and varied visual style, Damian and her crack team of animators take inspiration from Winkler's naive paintings and photos from Afghanistan, alongside a multitude of elements from Afghan art and landscapes, as well as images from war and the activism of the 1960s. They graphically modify them in various styles: sometimes merely as sketches, at other times in eye-catching gouache or watercolour, and elsewhere via animated sequences in 2D and 3D. There are also clever references to the history of film amid the deluge of images.
A haunting score from the Bucharest-born, London-based composer-violinist Alexander Balanescu perfectly complements the film.
Romania / France / Poland 2015
For the rich and varied visual style, Damian and her crack team of animators take inspiration from Winkler's naive paintings and photos from Afghanistan, alongside a multitude of elements from Afghan art and landscapes, as well as images from war and the activism of the 1960s. They graphically modify them in various styles: sometimes merely as sketches, at other times in eye-catching gouache or watercolour, and elsewhere via animated sequences in 2D and 3D. There are also clever references to the history of film amid the deluge of images.
A haunting score from the Bucharest-born, London-based composer-violinist Alexander Balanescu perfectly complements the film.
Romania / France / Poland 2015
Info
Rating
Under 12 Not Recommended
Production year
2015
Global distributor
-
Local distributor
Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ
In cinema
11/6/2015