The rider (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Chloé Zhao
	Actors: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Lane Scott
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 14.05.2018, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English without subtitle
Synopsis: Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau), a rodeo bronc rider with some renown, learned everything he knows about horses and riding from his parents, Wayne (Tim Jandreau) and the now deceased Mari Blackburn. Brady is recovering from a fall off a bronking horse in a rodeo, the most serious of the injuries being a skull fracture which required a metal plate being inserted into his head. Including checking himself out of the hospital earlier than advised, Brady is determined to get back up onto horse as quickly as possible. Being a cowboy is all he knows. But deep in his heart he knows that returning to the rodeo in particular is something that is probably not in the cards without increased risks.
Review: Being shot within the cowboy community in South Dakota one could almost consider this movie as a Western. The story is nevertheless rather a personal drama about the ability to accept a defeat. In this case defeat against fatality. Brady struggles for life, for his dream of rodeo. His dilemma is visualised via the contact with horses, with his family, with his friends, with the wild and wide nature that look like a reflection of himself.  The acting is amazing of authenticity. The non-verbal communication within the family is so genuine. There is no need of much dialogue to understand what is happening and how the characters are feeling. The competences shown by Brady with the horses must be also natural, and if not Brady Jandreau would be an amazing actor and learning machine.  The photography is very meticulous so that both characters and horses are depicted with moving portraits rather than movie pictures. Having characters and horses portraited with the same visuals almost humanises the horses. Even the credits valorise the horses at the same level as the humans. This match perfectly with the relationship between the cowboys and their horses as presented in this movie. One can be for or against it, but artistically it is very well done.
Rating: 7 /10