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.

How this movie currently have a 7.7 score here at IMDB is a mystery. The movie quality is horrible. The acting stiff without any sense of empathy or feeling. The directing seems non existing and the cutting and sound does not add to the mixture. It was a pain to watch.

Ava's healing process after the death of her mother is the main theme and is depicted dutifully throughout the film. The romances in the love triangle fumble in the dark without any emotional depth. It feels as though there has been an effort to deliver the story according to the script, without understanding that it also needs to feel genuine. All the components for the story are borrowed from better films but then adapted without an understanding of what is necessary to make it credible.

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.