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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Buck (Film)

by Annette Basile | February 13, 2012 12:28 | Edited February 13, 2012 12:30

Not merely a doco for animal lovers, this ends up an enthralling, fascinating and surprisingly haunting character study.

His methods are not entirely original, nor are they magical, but Buck Brannaman has a transcendent understanding of horses. Brannaman was the inspiration for the lead character of Nick Evans' novel, The Horse Whisperer, and advised a certain Robert Redford on the actor/director's 1998 film version. A marvellous Redford is interviewed here, adding another shade to this unique, multi-hued documentary.

 

There's wisdom in Buck for anyone who lives with animals. But this isn't just for animal lovers - it's a character study about a quietly fascinating, profoundly likeable, somewhat damaged man who runs horse workshops as he travels through the singular world of rural America's equine circuit. This is cowboy hat territory like we've never quite seen it before - unromanticised. Brannaman basically says that he trains humans, not horses. If there's an issue with a horse's behaviour, Brannaman says that it stems from the person, making this a much more wide-ranging film than it looks on the movie poster. One segment, where he basically psychoanalyses the owner of an unruly, dangerous horse, is as uncomfortable as it is compelling.

 

Debut filmmaker Cindy Meehl follows Brannaman on the road, observing the workshops and interviewing family and friends. Her style is as gentle and non-manipulative as the film's central character, and she lets Brannaman's own voice deliver the narration. What comes out of this doco is how much Brannaman's past - he was abused by a violent father - fuelled his legendary empathy towards horses. He's a together guy, but there's sadness not too far from the surface. The archival footage of a young Brannaman and his brother doing rope tricks on TV is both amazing and moving - amazing because they're clever kids; moving because you're aware of the vicious home life that the boys would return to after they finished entertaining the masses. Buck is a thinking, feeling and original experience.