Joy of Horses

I recently had the pleasure of watching The Joy of Horses by Ava Justin. As a lover of heartfelt love stories, this film truly resonated with me, especially through its poignant portrayal of Joy's journey.

Beyond the emotional depth, the film offers a valuable learning experience for aspiring filmmakers like myself. It's an inspiring example of how independent filmmakers can craft compelling narratives. The audio design was particularly well-executed, enhancing the immersive experience, and the protagonist's performance felt authentic and believable, drawing me further into the story.

While the color grading could be refined to elevate the visual storytelling, the film showcases tremendous promise. I'm excited to see how Ava Justin continues to grow as a filmmaker and what stories she will share with us next. I highly recommend The Joy of Horses to fellow filmmakers.

What I really enjoyed about this film, was the complex storyline. It dealt with themes such as loss, love, family and friendship. It was truly a film about young adulthood. It showed the complexities of a teenager's life in a way I don't see many films explore

Additionally, this movie is much more than the joy of horses. Ava Justin, impressively, produces, writes and stars in this film! She played the lead very honestly. Her character had so many dimensions to her. I appreciated that about the writing!

Definitely check this out and support independent filmmaking! Looking forward to her next projects!

The movie itself? -- all the tell-tales of a low-budget indie. That is, overlapping credits (writer/director same person); static, overly-lit scenes; unknown actors; static dialog; static editing; no emotional punch; fails the Ebert Watch Test. The marketing? -- another story entirely. Heralds a new generation of "targeted" movies that come out of the box with their own built-in set of "influencer reviews." This film, which has already been picked up by one of the newer "free" streaming services, magically appeared on IMDb with stellar ratings of the same rarified air as STAR WARS or GODFATHER. And, astonishingly, some two dozen user reviews supporting those ratings. However, if you sort those early reviews by "PROLIFIC REVIEWER," you immediately see that virtually all the early entries were generated by reviewers who, coincidentally, starting contributing to the IMDb only this year, in 2024. Serious film fans need to take a moment to understand this new phenomenon and adjust their "film radar" accordingly. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

For the story - I was catapulted into a world of romantic drama that stirred up my emotions in the most delightful way. The concept of the movie was very titillating. I enjoyed the emotional conflict that most people deal with everyday when it comes to loss and love.

For the production - It needs work, but to even be able to get it completed is success in itself. As everyone in the film industry knows, that is very impressive. I have heard about a lot of drama on set. DP'd leaving with the footage because they want more money. After already agreeing to the money offered. Or producers backing out of a project for whatever reason. Or a number of other things. So congrats guys for making this happen. Much success in the future.

Despite the fact that the Joy Of Horses film doesn't live to its title, it tackles important subjects, love, grief and parenting in an interesting way.

The film's narrative puts all of us at a spot of appreciating the need for one to have a support system at all times as visible from the protagonist's need for a parent figure to help guide her through her healing process and protect her from making mistakes as she navigates her life.

The film's production values are below average however, from cinematography, sound design , production design, costume design, makeup, editing, acting and music among others.

The film's concept and idea are concrete however the screenplay and dialogue needed some work to make the story even stronger.

Despite the downsides of below average key creative elements in the film, it doesn't loose its track as the narrative sets a clear path and understanding of what the characters are and what they want, and in the end some win and some loose as so is life, the protagonist wins and that's what matters most.

This is a promising story and film from the filmmakers and hopefully their next one will be a greater improvement from this.