Tag: Horses

SPIRIT UNTAMED – Review

With the kiddos finally out of school (unless they were still “splitting the time” online and in-person), the studios are actually releasing some “child-friendly” fare right into the gradually re-opening multiplexes. Not a big superhero blockbuster, but an animated adventure arrives this post-holiday weekend. Is it something new from the “mouse house”, or its sister company, the recent Oscar-winner Pixar? Well, this is from one of their biggest rivals, the “studio that SHREK built”, Dreamworks Animation. And it’s not exactly new, but more of an “inspired by” than a sequel or franchise entry. It all goes back to a “2D’ (or “classic cell/drawn”) feature from nearly twenty years ago. That feature spawned a “3D’, or “CGI/computer”, streaming series on Netflix. But things have come full circle (much like a corral) as the property returns to theatres, though still “computer-rendered”, with (cue the whinny) SPIRIT UNTAMED. Giddyup!


Now, jes’ you hold yer’ hosses’! This tale starts with a flashback, sometime in the late 1800s. In the frontier town of Miradero, everyone gathers for the big annual rodeo celebration. The highlight is a performance by the amazing rider/acrobat Milagro Novarro-Prescott. Her biggest fans in the adoring audience are her husband Jim and their toddler daughter that everyone calls “Lucky”.Oh, but luck is not with her that fateful day, as a stunt while perched atop a beautiful showhorse goes horribly wrong. Fortunately Lucky is too little to understand the tragedy, while her papa is consumed with sadness. So sad, that Lucky is sent off to live with his older sister Cora (Julianne Moore) in the Eastern US mansion of her grandpa’. But as Lucky grows into a pre-teen, her mother’s rebellious nature comes to the fore (she wrecks a big political banquet). It’s then decided that Lucky should reunite with her Daddy, so Aunt Cora accompanies her on a west-bound train. It’s there that Lucky first sees the beautiful Spirit, leading a group of wild horses running alongside the locomotive. Unfortunately, the leader of a group of no-good varmits’, the brutal Hendricks (Walton Goggins), also sees the stallion and hatches a plan to capture the herd and sell them to finance their next big “job”.. The father and child reunion is strained when Lucky tells Jim (Jake Gyllenhaal) that she wants to find Spirit. Fearing that she will suffer the same fate as her mama, he forbids it. But when Hendricks snares Spirit and holds him at a local stable, Lucky, with her new pals Pru (Marsai Martin) and Abigal (McKenna Grace), tries to free him and eventually protect all the wild horses from the evil outlaws.


This simple story is elevated by the vocal casting of several screen (big and small) veterans. And there’s even an Oscar winner, though Ms. Moore’s Cora is mainly there for comic relief, an uptight starched shirt that will take a tumble into the water trough (among many indignities). But Moore gives it her best, though she deserves something more interesting than slapstick peacemaker in the household. Gyllenhaal voices the head of the household and brings haunted compassion to the morose man in need of some fun. And that comes in the form of Lucky, played by relative newcomer Isabella Merced who projects a bouncy can-do attitude, adding to her character’s empathy and fearlessness, a young lady who’s much more than a “damsel in distress”. The cause of much of that drama and disaster is the sinister Goggins, who makes Hendricks an often charming rattlesnake (you never turn your back on him) who oozes civility when cozying up to Cora, but shows her true colors to his cronies. Another great vet, though sadly underused here is Andre Braugher as the stable owner, and Pru’s dad, who offers a friendly shoulder, and good advice, to Jim.

Directors Elaine Bogan and Ennio Torresan give this childhood wild west fantasy a nice glossy, candy-colored sheen, ready-made for the retail toy shelves. I can see the rows of Spirits, his caramel coat perfectly balanced with patches of white. And nearby the kid characters with slightly oversized noggins illuminated by wide eyes (the three young girls and annoying, wanna-be comic relief kid brother Snips with tiny donkey). But unlike rival Disney/Pixar, and even the other Dreamworks franchises, there’s just not enough emotional depth or conflict to engage audiences apart from the “pre-K’ set (guessing this may be the first theatre experience for many wee ones). Sure, there are disagreements, but nearly everyone is “nice”, which helps us appreciate the Hendricks gang, their character design filled with sharp angles and beady eyes, a contrast to the smooth, soft Prescotts and company. This is really a “mild” rather than wild west with the town of Miradero more of a pristine theme park (exit through that gift shop, natch’). The story hits all the correct “girl power” buttons, but there’s little for that coveted “all-ages crowd”. At least Spirit doesn’t quickly submit to Lucky, forsaking his “wild side” to hasten the plot. My mind drifted often, thinking about Lisa Simpson sitting in the front row of the Springfield Aztec for multiple showings. Now if she made the trio a quartet, well, then you’d have something. I’m certainly not the target audience, but beginning filmgoers deserve something more engaging than the cotton-candy fluff of SPIRIT UNTAMED. Whoa, dismount!

1.5 Out of 4

SPIRIT UNTAMED is now playing in select theatres everywhere

THE RIDER – Review

Brady Jandreau as Brady Blackburn, in THE RIDER. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Brady Jandreau stars as a rodeo star and horse trainer who faces a life crisis after a serious injury in director/writer/producer Chloe Zhao’s Western/cowboy drama THE RIDER.

In this sensitive family drama, the former rodeo star plays Brady Blackburn, a young rodeo star who suffers a serious head injury and is told by doctors he must never ride again. At first Brady wants to just ignore this grim diagnosis and tries to resume his previous life but it becomes clear he will need to come to grips with the facts. Even without his rodeo career, Brady cannot imagine how he will make a living without horses. The son of horse trainers, he has trained horses his whole life and riding is how he finds peace in the world. He cannot see a life without horses.

Non-actor Brady Jandreau has a lot in common with this character, and the cast also includes family members Tim Jandreau and Lily Jandreau as his father and younger sister. It is not spelled out but details in the film suggest that Brady and his family are Native American. Brady wears a jacket that refers to Indian Rodeo, he goes to job center with posters promoting “Lakota Pride” on the wall, and his buddies sing songs that suggest Native American traditions. Brady’s mom is dead and there are hints that drinking may have played a role her death and perhaps that his sister appears to be developmentally-disabled.

The family is close but Brady’s dad puts a lot of pressure on his son to bring in money, while he seems to have problems with gambling and drinking himself. While Brady tells everyone he is “recovering” before returning to rodeo, he searches for a way to make a living without risking becoming further disabled. Despair is sometimes close at hand.  jury and is told by doctors he must never ride again. He might be able to give up rodeo but giving up riding seems incomprehensible. At first Brady wants to just ignore this grim diagnosis and tries to resume his previous life but it becomes clear he will need to come to grips with the facts. Even without his rodeo career, Brady cannot imagine

It is hard to judge how close this is to the real lives of the Jandreaus, but the authenticity is there. They do present a moving and convincing portrayal of a family on the edge. often touching and sometimes tense. When Brady becomes too stressed, it is often the company of horses he seeks, but he also draws comfort from being around his sunny-natured sister. Periodically he visits his best friend, a former rodeo star now severely disabled by injury and living in a nursing home/rehab center. Helping his friend cope with his disabilities helps Brady but it serves as a warning to him about what he might be risking.

The film offers what looks like an authentic glimpse inside this world, as well as insight into the life of someone facing losing the livelihood they love. First-time director Chloe Zhao gives us some beautiful, sweeping Western vistas and often focuses on Brady Jandreau’s handsome, subtly expressive face. The director also gives us a real sense of immersion in life in this community, where young cowboys tell stories around a campfire but sometimes sprinkle in traditional Native American beliefs, songs and prayers.

THE RIDER is a little film and its plot takes a familiar path, yet it offers rewards in its peek inside this special world, in the warmth of family, and in its quietly glorious Western scenery. The film opens in St. Louis on Friday, May 11 at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Review: THE HORSE BOY

thehorseboy

Roughly one out of every ninety children are born with autism. Approximately one percent of children in the United States, between the ages of 3 and 17, have an autism spectrum disorder. Between 1-1.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder. These are staggering statistics, especially considering such a prevalent disorder receives less that 5% of private research funding of other less common disorders and diseases.

My intention for sharing these statistics is not to condemn anyone, but merely to point out the vastness of the population living with some form of autism. This is a disorder that is still relatively unknown to us in terms of it’s cause and ultimately it’s place within our society and humanity. Many cling to the idea that autism is strictly a bad thing, a disease, but many others remain open to the possibility that autism isn’t a disease so much as a different way of seeing the world that neuro-typical people do not yet fully understand.

THE HORSE BOY is an amazing documentary about that very differentiation. The film follows 4-year old Rowan Isaacson and his parents as they travel from the United States to Mongolia, seeking a cure for Rowan’s autism. Rowan’s father Rupert, a horse trainer by trade, realized one day that Rowan has an uncanny connection and way with animals, especially with horses. Rupert decides he wants to use this connection and take his family to the one place that horse-riding was born, which also happens to be the home of what are considered to be the most powerful Shamans in the world.

The Isaacson’s experience of raising a child with autism, with symptoms varying from tantrums to a complete resistance to potty train, has taken an emotional toll on their lives. Rupert feels that this adventure to Mongolia, undertaken in part by way of lengthy horse-back riding, will reveal some form of healing for Rowan and themselves. Rupert’s wife Kristin is a bit more skeptical of the outcome, but remains open to the possibilities and they both ultimately find themselves amazed at the results.

Without venturing into excessive detail of Rowan’s condition, the simple truth is that at his his rate of development, he would have difficulty living a “normal” life on his own in society. This, above all else, is what frightens Rowan’s parents and pushes them to follow this path of horses and Shamanic healing. The journey has it’s ups and downs. The film, directed, photographed and edited by first-timer Michel O. Scott, vividly captures both the intense joy and exhausting pain that they endure along the way.

THE HORSE BOY harnesses moments of intimacy with Rowan, both with his father and moments by himself that reveal a unique and fascinating human being in the process of discovering himself and the world around him. Rowan overcomes nearly all of the negative, debilitating effects of autism but also maintains and thrives on the positive aspects of seeing the world from a different perspective through autism. Whether this is the direct result of the Shamanic healing, Rupert and Kristin differ slightly in their opinions, but what they agree on is that the experience as a whole has been a blessing and they are grateful, regardless of the causation of his progress.

The film takes this very engaging and emotional story of human triumph and peppers it lightly with interview clips from various experts, including Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, anthropologist and researcher Roy Richard Gringer and Dr. Temple Grandin, who herself lives with autism. These scenes are minimal, but offer an enlightening educational support to the story as it unfolds. Footage shot by Michel Scott depicts Rowan’s unbelievable connection to animals as well as the immense beauty of the remote regions of Mongolia, which give an epic cinematic feel to the Isaacson’s jounrey.

Original music in THE HORSE BOY was composed by Lili Haydyn and Kim Carroll and, while pleasant enough, felt a tad too New Age. This was a concern because, while the subject matter may seem “New Age” on the surface, is really more about a father’s determined journey to make a better life for his son than it was a testament to any specific form of alternative or spiritual method of healing. Here is a man, a father so in love with his child that, no matter what the cost or outcome, was willing to leave no stone unturned in seeking the best life possible for his son and this in turn is what makes THE HORSE BOY a fantastic must-see documentary!