"The Rider" of the title is Brady Blackburn and he's played by Brady
Jandreau, a non-professional who is basically 'playing' himself as
indeed are everyone else in the cast. Chloe Zhao's film isn't a
documentary but it may as well be since everything that happens is
basically 'real', even if it is scripted, (by the director herself).
Zhao has fashioned a scenario that in the hands of a more seasoned
director would have smacked of Hollywood but this indie is totally
unadorned
and yet is ravishingly
beautiful in a Malick kind of way, (it was actually filmed in the
Badlands of Dakota). It could have been made in the seventies but then
it would have had a professional cast and would have been the product of
an established studio.
Nothing happens. When the film opens Brady has suffered a serious head injury after being thrown at a rodeo and for the next two hours the film simply observes him adjust to a more sedentary kind of life but one that also includes a new-found relationship with a new horse. It's utterly unromantic and while clearly aimed at the festival circuit it's a film that deserves to find an audience and a life of its own long after the festivals finish. It's also one of the best films I've seen this year.
"The Rider" of the title is Brady Blackburn and he's played by Brady
Jandreau, a non-professional who is basically 'playing' himself as
indeed are everyone else in the cast. Chloe Zhao's film isn't a
documentary but it may as well be since everything that happens is
basically 'real', even if it is scripted, (by the director herself).
Zhao has fashioned a scenario that in the hands of a more seasoned
director would have smacked of Hollywood but this indie is totally
unadorned and yet is ravishingly
beautiful in a Malick kind of way, (it was actually filmed in the
Badlands of Dakota). It could have been made in the seventies but then
it would have had a professional cast and would have been the product of
an established studio.
Nothing happens. When the film opens Brady has suffered a serious head injury after being thrown at a rodeo and for the next two hours the film simply observes him adjust to a more sedentary kind of life but one that also includes a new-found relationship with a new horse. It's utterly unromantic and while clearly aimed at the festival circuit it's a film that deserves to find an audience and a life of its own long after the festivals finish. It's also one of the best films I've seen this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment