Buck
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Buck Brannaman, Robert Redford
Director: Cindy Meehl
A doco about a horse whisperer, Buck was one of the sleeper hits of the New Zealand International Film Festival.
Now granted a wider release, it's the story of Buck Brannaman, who has an incredible knack with the horses - and it's got to be seen to be believed.
Essentially, this doco follows Buck as he goes about his "horse clinics" which he tours around America, basically doling out advice to horse owners who've got troubled animals or who are difficult to tame.
It's a quite bizarrely moving piece and is simply astonishing the first time you see Buck walk into a ring and up to a horse which just minutes previously has been kicking and bucking. There's something instinctive about Buck's presence which instantly soothes these animals and puts them at ease.
But as one comment in the doco hints at it's almost as if the animals can associate with Buck because of the fact he's like a wounded animal in some ways due to a troubled personal life in the past.
As that unfolds, you could be forgiven for thinking that Meehl's milking that angle of this story for dramatic impact. That would be the case were it not for the fact that it's the gently unassuming Buck who's telling us about frightful things and abuse from his childhood.
That's the thing with Buck - it has a charm which is striking from the get go; and even with the likes of Robert Redford praising Buck's mentality and attitude (he helped train and work with the horses on the Horse Whisperer), there's nothing to beat the quiet dignity of the man himself.
