Krabat: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The 67-year-old creator has produced an uncompromisingly distinctive narrative that highlights the Slavic roots of Preußler's tale (originally a Lusatian Sorbian legend from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, apparently inspired by Indian motifs). The duel between the sorcerer and his apprentice thus has deeper, mythological roots. Its protagonist is Krabat, an abandoned orphan who, while wandering through the winter wilderness, reaches a mysterious mill. There, together with eleven other boys, he studies the art of magic under an old wizard. Krabat, however, falls in love with a village girl, breaking the rule of living in isolation. She must then rescue her beloved and his friends from the power of a tyrannical, vengeful sorcerer... The ballad-like narrative stands out for its impressive, poetically gloomy atmosphere. It tells of the good and evil powers that may be hidden in the human heart. Krabat, the "white magician," is led to liberation from the snares of darkness and evil power by his strong will and faith in love... In The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Karel Zeman used the classic form of animated film: cutout animation enhanced by three-dimensional animation techniques. The film received numerous international awards. To this day, the movie ranks among the best Czech films for children and youth made during the 1970s and 1980s.