LITTLE CLASSICS
Il Cinema Ritrovato Kids will host two classics of children’s cinema which have lost none of their charms in the past fifty years: Luigi Comencini’s Heidi (1952), which Il Cinema Ritrovato will present as part of the section dedicated to Praesens-Film, and Albert Lamorisse’s Crin Blanc (1953).
The character of Heidi, created by the writer Johanna Spyri in the late 19th century, made her film debut in 1920 with Heidi of the Alps, an American film which created a momentum, beginning with Shirley Temple’s celebrated interpretation of the role in Allan Dwan’s 1937 adaptation. Comencini was Italo-Swiss and, having already made films for children, was a logical choice to direct this film, the first Swiss production shot in German. Heidi would subsequently appear in various sequels, live action and animated features, and animated series, including the celebrated transposition by the Japanese master Isao Takahata in the 1970s.
In the Camargue, a herd of beautiful wild horses roam free. Amongst them is the stallion Crin Blanc. A band of herdsmen attempt to capture the horse with every means at their disposal but one boy, the only human to get close to and befriend Crin Blanc, helps set him free. Shot in powerful, captivating black and white and supported by a soundtrack by Maurice Le Roux, Crin Blanc won the Grand Prize for best short at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. It is considered one of the best films for children ever made.