The Horse Boy (2009)

Pretty Good

Best movie ever!

A Masterpiece!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

it's slightly odd that i even feel the need to write this... it's about Mr 'rick James' review above. I have nothing to do with anything or anyone in the film, or even autism. I guess I enjoyed the film, especially the Mongolian landscapes. What, on the other hand, struck me as I read that review was how simply deranged he sounded. Having serious personal issues is one thing, but not taming them and then going so far as to write such a pretentious review, wreaking of self-importance and instability like this one, is another thing. I guess I write this as I sometimes tire of fully grown 'normal' people, so clearly suffering from issues they choose to ignore, and who confuse their need to expiate personal venom with a 'review'. It sounds grotesque, and helps no one to understand anything about the film - more about the author's instabilities. In passing, I congratulate the filmmakers on a well made and touching near-zero budget film. We'd be so much poorer if we didn't have such people making these films.

Happiness, love and understanding!This film brings the beautiful message that the autistic can and will be cured by physical exercise. We all know it's true, and it is wonderful to see depicted in real life. The young boy's turnaround is nothing short of a miracle.The boy rides the horse. He commutes with the goat. He speaks to the chicken.You must take your children to Siberia. Autism, cancer, all will be cured by the horse and the goat. The chicken, not so much.Scientology? No, Science: Totally.

This is an excellent documentary with a message about the need for diversity in which an autistic boy with a love of animals is the main focus.A young couple and their autistic four year old boy Rowan take a pilgrimage to a sacred lake at the heart of the great Mongolian Plain where tradition has it, shamans still practice ancient healing rituals that may help heal their son of his autism. Rowan seems keen enough, but are they barking up the wrong tree? As we take the journey with them so we start to understand what the boy's parents are really up against. Who are they and why are they making such a public show of their autistic son? Do they have something important to say to justify their family adventure? The answer is yes.Their energy, determination and openness throughout the whole film is spoken to a friendly and compassionate camera and having previously documented the plight of the Bushmen, Rowan's father is clearly going to be in his element. But is it just another documentary for him? Rowan's father is clearly on familiar territory as a journalist having previously visited remote tribes and other remote parts of the world, but here he is completely unable to walk away from the subject matter like any other a job; here his hands are tied. Why are we doing it? How will it end? Are we crazy subjecting ourselves and our son to such(public) expectations? We share their doubt.For me the wild landscape of the high Mongolian Plain captured perfectly the wilderness and inner vulnerability of dealing with autism in the modern world. From start to finish one wonders where will it end and marvels at how Rowan's parents cope. Amazing stamina but sustained by true love and compassion.The films greatest strength is its vulnerability; for this is no easy fiction. A film which could so easily have fallen into the modern day pit of an obsession for awkward personal exposure resounds with love where personal revelation reaches far wider and may touch you as much as it did me.Well paced and nicely edited this is a motion picture about autism that had to be made and has to be seen, that puts the vital worth back into autism as part of the greater diversity of our expansive human soul.

I got tickets to the premiere at Sundance and must confess I wasn't that excited about going to this movie. I thought it was going to be pretty depressing.It turns out that was pretty unfair. It's a great movie; you begin to really relate to the people and their struggles with their autistic son. The parents are absolutely saints; I have no idea how they coped for as long as they did. The backdrop of Mongolia is beautiful; and all the while, you're hoping for a miracle without letting those hopes get too far up.Definitely worth seeing.