Nevada

Yesterday evening, I saw this film at a premiere in the presence of the actor Matthias Schoenaerts, the director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, the producer Alain Goldman and part of the film crew, within UGC Les Halles, in Paris. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre and Alain Goldman briefly mentioned the manifold difficulties dealing with the making of a first film abroad. Women in the audience were clearly under the spell of Matthias Schoenaerts who behaved like he was himself under Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's spell.

Without unduly spoiling the script, Roman Coleman (Matthias Schoenaerts) is incarcerated for aggravated violence. After a decade in prison, most under total isolation, he has the opportunity to benefit from a rehabilitation program involving the training of wild mustangs. But before controlling a wild animal such as a mustang, first you must be able to control yourself. And that's definitely the point. Thus, we see Roman (the prisoner) and Marquis (the mustang) taming to each other, as the fox and the little prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943).

The script is predictable and the taming phase is described as elliptically as naively, but we can easily cope with this secondary observation. Moreover, the cast is excellent, the Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts enjoying a legendary charisma and a remarkable aura. He is also perfectly seconded by Jason Mitchell and Bruce Dern. In fact, I was particularly moved by the message of hope transpiring throughout the entire film, a prison being generally reduced to the single status of « let's hide the dust under the carpet », that is to say that as long as the scum is in jail, the society will feel better (it is certainly a plus) but without really worrying about the after-jail (that's weird, isn't it?)

As a synthesis: a lovely tale brimming with beneficence, philanthropy and humanity. 7/8 of 10.

A Movie with no political agendas, Very down to earth and believable. The Film makers did a wonderful job of demonstrate how less is more.

Animals in Prisons ... a good idea? I would say yes - and there are apparently studies that confirm that it helps those incarcerated. Horses are symbols of freedom so this is not even a subtle attempt that is being conveyed to the viewer. But one that is very well done.

Robert Redford produced this and I reckon it is just another reminder of how (socially) active he is. Yes he is not just a good looking boy (he'll be forever young, no matter his current age), but one that uses his fame and his power to do something good. And I would say if at least some people watching this realize the potential - the good it can do to have programs like this in prisons ... it hopefully will help in the long run.

Now while that all may sound nice and dandy, there is also a lot grittiness, a lot of violence ... it is a prison after all. So do not be surprised if this does not hold back punches .. or stabs for that matter. The ending .. almost poetic though! Could not have been a better one ... and then the text about different states and statistics.

I woke earlier than usual this morning and with Daylight Savings Time hitting tomorrow decided to get up and acclimate a day early. Perusing the upcoming movie releases, I was thrilled to see that "The Mustang" is scheduled to hit the theaters this month. I don't know how wide a release it will be, but it's well worth tracking this beautiful film down

French actress Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre makes her feature film directorial debut here. There is little question that she will be given many more opportunities after this endeavor.

Fortunately she was at the Sundance opening for the film and we had the chance to hear how she brought this film to fruition. The story is based on an actual prison rehabilitation program whereby violent inmates are given the opportunity to break and train wild mustangs in an effort to ready them for auction. There are more than 100,000 mustangs in the wild and a portion are herded up each year to enter the program.

The film stars Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts. He is an established star in his country and has appeared in several Oscar nominated foreign language films, and he received a Cesar Award for Most Promising Actor for his performance in "Rust and Bone" In 2013.

Schoenaerts is the heart of this movie. He and the wild horse he is assigned to break. His violent past can be discerned just by looking at him. He is a deeply troubled man and wants nothing than to be left alone. "I'm not good with people" he bluntly states. Adding to the richness of the characters in the film is Bruce Dern who delightfully plays the crusty, irascible trainer to the inmates. It's good to see him deliver a solid performance at age 82.

The cinematography in the film is stunning. The mountains of Nevada enveloping this maximum security prison provide good material for the director. She puts it all to great use. Some of the scenes with Roman Coleman (Schoenaerts) and his horse are intimate and moving.

This was one of my favorites from this year's Sundance Festival and I am very pleased that it made it to the big screens. I hope it reaches many of them and that you get to see it. Enjoy.

The story is great in terms of the human element. It is both beautiful and painful.

As a horse owner, I just couldn't get past how 100% ridiculous the actual horse stuff was. I loved that they used some participants in the program as actors, but the way they dramatized it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Viewers could have learned something about horses - even something basic like pressure and release - but instead what they were shown was that "anyone" can start a wild mustang with zero experience and everything will work out fine in 12 weeks. Not a single helmet in the entire film. Face palm.

Seven stars because I know I have to forgive the horse stuff and focus on what the film was actually about.