Ostwind

The parents of Mika (Hanna Binke) send her to her grandmother to instill some structure and discipline in her. The grandmother was once an Olympic rider and owns a riding stable. Mika feels she is not good at anything, but discovers her talent when she befriends a troubled horse named Windstorm.

This is a good family movie about a love affair between a troubled horse and a human namely Mika. Mika discovers she has the gift of what a horse feels and they bond instantly. This is not as predictable as it may seem because there are a few bumps along the way that surprised me. (You're too easy)

This is a German movie and the English is dubbed in. After a while it is not all that distracting or noticeable as we get more involved with Mika and Windstorm. And involved you will get . The story is well told and you never want this to end.

As far as I am concerned this is as good as the movie The Black Stallion. (8/10)

Violence: Not really. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.

To be sure, I've taken a hard look (actually it was shoved down my throat) at "spiritually-inspired training methods." Also, I'm aware of non US differences in techniques... Further, walking a horse off the Amish truck (Hungary) was not a foreign concept to me when I felt the need. And last but not least, I'm not here to "bad mouth" the film because movies are for entertainment purposes, with fictitious content - which should therefore not be subjected to peer review.

Having said all that, in the interest of harm reduction, I'd like to offer a few sentences:

Horses are extremely powerful animals and even the most docile weanling can cause serious injury to an individual unintentionally. No thousand pound class animal can be tranquilized and dropped in a few seconds with an intramuscular injection. Colts/Stallions in general, are not the type of animal you want to bond with - that's why most are gelded. Grooming takes place while a horse is tethered, preferably with cross ties. A horse in a domesticated environment requires a halter, at night, in a stall, it may be removed but should be replaced asap in the AM. Never lie down anywhere near a horse.

Outstanding lighting effects, please see it with your children - the ones that have reading skills.

The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Just saw this movie streamed by IMDB, entitled Westwind, although it's in this database as Ostwind, the original German title. Although formulaic, a mixed up city teen gets sent to a horse farm to straighten her out, it is done very well in this case. Beautiful cinematography which succeeds in capturing the love between the girl and her horse. Since it is dubbed in English, we're probably missing half of the original screen actors' portrayal of the characters, but, on the whole, the movie engaged me until the end, even though I knew how it would end. Worth watching by teens and adults who love horses.

OK, right off the bat I want to say this film is superb in the German format as Ostwind. So much is lost in translation/dubbing. I also want to say that some of the points in other reviews could be debated, but as it was said, this is strictly rating the film. The scenery and music are breath-taking, and the plot/acting great too. One of the "errors" pointed out is that it is dangerous sleeping with a stalled horse. But this is a crucial aspect of the plot. Herr Kahn recognizes Mika has a Noirsoj, one who has a special bond to horses, because of Mika sleeping with Ostwind. It is with this awareness that Mr. Kahn develops a unique training program for Mika, one where she truly bonds with Ostwind. I think watching them train together was the best part of the film. This film inspired me to become involved with horse rescue and care. I wanted to see what that kind of bond could feel like and fell in love with our horses. I found an article that rated the 10 best horse films and this one was listed. I couldn't agree more. P. S. I rated Windstorm an 8 because of dubbing, but IMdb doesn't list the original German Ostwind. That film gets my 10.

The amount of horse movies I watch is almost inexistant but this one is amazing cause Mika respect the horse. She doesn't follow the equestrian rules. This industry is toxic and she understands it. I love how she let's Ostwind free and doesn't ride him unless she has to save his life or the ranch or a water source,even to let an old horse take a break. I normally don't watch horse movies cause there so much abuse in there such as bids, saddles... but as I explained , this movie I really enjoy it. She doesn't horse race in the third movie, she let him race alone against the other ones. Doesn't use any bids and I stand for it. Definitely a movie that will make you change your perception about horses and abuse they suffer.