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Director's Statement
The film tells the story of Marona, a small lovable dog who passes from one master to another, taking us on a thrilling and miraculous roadtrip through life.
When I had the idea of making this film I felt that under the guise of a “family-friendly story” I could find a deeper meaning, one that is essential to (but also invisible) in today’s mundane reality. In this sense, the use of animation allowed me the freedom to create a unique space of trust and imagination. Here, in a playful way, I feel I can influence the perspective of the audience. Seeing things through a dog’s eyes is like giving everybody a mirror to face the truth, a truth which they are no longer able to deny. For me, this film is like a modern fairytale.
The destiny of Marona is both simple and essential, individual and universal. Live in the present; enjoy the small things; deeply connect to others – these are dog’s “lessons of happiness” for humans. The song we hear at the end spells out this message :
"Happiness is a small thing,
Almost nothing,
A saucer of milk,
A big wet tongue,
A nap,
A place to bury a bone,
A hand,
A smile"
Love and death are the underlying motives that connect all of my films. MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE embodies these themes in the most personal, delicate and insightful way.
I find myself reflected in Marona and in all of her masters: Manole, the solitary melancholic acrobat, who desperately searches for the poetry of life; Istvan, the gentle yet clumsy and emotionally-stilted builder; Solange, part-princess and part-wanderer, sometimes fully empathetic, sometimes purely selfish. These characters correspond to the different ages of Marona - childhood, adolescence, and maturity - in the same way that we perceive ourselves while moving through life.
I loved all the secondary characters and tried to find that bipolarity that exists in each and every person - we are all good and bad at the same time. I alternated between humour and emotion, trying to make all the characters lovable and complex.
The story also brought me the opportunity to explore new means of cinematic expression. I aimed to offer the audience a unique experience on a visual level: both the beauty of arts & crafts and the concept of subjective space. In this way, each character defines their own area: each has their own little territory, associated with their own personality. None of these islands are in harmony with another, but they form a certain family connection. Manole’s house and his surroundings are totally subjective spaces, inspired by children’s dreams, borrowed from poetry, where anything can happen. Istvan’s apartment, on the other hand, is governed by strict rules, like those that we have to submit to during adolescence, when we can’t find our place and don’t feel understood. In between Manole and Istvan we can find Solange’s apartment, where the rule of thumb is: Accept things as they are.
The film is engaging and entertaining, somewhere at the crossroad between visual art and music. As we laugh and cry, we finally, unconditionally, feel the love and tenderness which everyone longs for…