The Horse Whisperer, 1998

The Horse Whisperer, 1998
Director: Robert Redford
Cast: Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neil





Stage: Home TV selection on a good Sunday night


The horse whisperer in short: A teenage girl riding a horse is hit by a truck. To help heal her troubled/injured daughter, and horse, the mother takes them to Montana to recuperate at the ranch of a 'horse whisperer', a horse healer of mystical talents. The mother proceeds to fall in love with him, as well.


Preps: I have seen this several times. A beautiful piece, therefore I watch it for the soul reasons (as well as blog reasons). And I expect to be dazzled as always.



Reality: Amazing, beautiful piece on love towards animals. Living on a farm, living somewhere where time is a constant and not a dynamical component. The plot is fairly simple - the only way to recover a car injury (accident) is to get away from everything and try to figure it out. The same goes for animals than it goes for persons - in this case a married mum with her daughter.

The scenery is marvellous, the dialogues are good (solid). Considering that the director is the main act (I normally make fun out of those movies because you cannot be in god's role and play god's father. In other sense, you cannot be the main cast and director in my opinion). Nevertheless, this piece shows it can be done - maybe because of the crew, the genre, I don't know why in perticular. However, this drama/romance is pretty genuine and it touches your heart. Especially if you are fond of animals and feel sorry for the psychologically deluted ones, the ones that need special care, affection, attention. Those are also the ones this piece is targeted to. You will love the nature and sceneries chosen for the dialogues. The irony in bringing a city girl in the nature or on to the farm, makes place for funny scenes. And makes place for jokes you couldn't place on another location/time/space.

The mere idea of whispering to the horses seems funny until you see it for real. Some truly amazing footage of horses and the process of curement. A cover story for the relationship story that is really happening from behind (escape from everyday normal city life; parents never being present; time flying away differently on the farm as in real life for the people that are stealing the nature moments to fly away to their imagination). There are many stories that could reveal themselves, however they remain in cocoon of director's imagination.

A nice piece to have on a lovely evening. Nothing more, nothing less. I love the animal feeling, I adore the music and the scenery. I just love the idea of escaping in the nature and living there without the pressure of everyday life. I am sure that the most audience of this movie will appreciate the last few lines I have been writing. The escape is what we all want. The question is, do we have the courage.




My personal rate: 8,0 (beautiful piece, it will fill your soul and heart. Especially if you are fond of horses)

Horse whisperer on IMDB

Nowhere Boy, 2009

Nowhere Boy, 2009
Director: Sam Taylor-Wood
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Josh Bolt


Nowhere Boy in short: Imagine John Lennons childhood A spirited teenager, curious, sharp and funny, growing up in the shattered city of Liverpool. Two extraordinary sisters tussle for his love - Mimi, the formidable aunt who raised him from the age of 5 and Julia, the spirited mother who gave him up to Mimis care. Yearning for a normal family, John escapes into art and the new music flooding in from the US. His fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the young Paul McCartney. But just as Johns new life begins, the truth about his past leads to a tragedy he would never escape.


Stage: home theatre

Preps: I wanted to see this in the local theatre, but I missed it. I am a fan of good biographies, especially about famous musicians - the stories that are never shared with the public and all you get to see in present is yellow media/press interesting stories. However, where are the roots of these people - seldomly shared with audience. Hence, a big welcome in my head to yet another supposed to be good biography.


Reality: The movie grasps my attention in an instant. I once listened to the Beatles a lot, and am still a great admiror. However, I never thought about the pre-story. Who was Lennon indeed when he was young? Or in my case, who was McCartney, how did they meet, where did they start jagging on the stage, etc. This is the piece that gives an answer to this up to some level. Doesn't answer how the final crew gathered (by the time the movie ends, there's still Ringo missing). But the other three find themselves more as a coincidence. The relationships and bonding between them, also the relationships in the family - brilliantly shown.
The scenery is perfect, english surroundings, rock n'roll times and obsession with Presley and protagonists of that era. The music in the movie is superb and takes you right up the hill of that time - pushes you into the situations the main cast is showing. Some things you cannot believe existed; like obsession in the movies, when looking at Presley, or jukebox dancing. Did you know rock n' roll means sex? Well, the mother of Lennon gives a good interpretation of this quote in this piece. The relationship between her and Lennon seems to deepen, nevertheless, too many questions remain unanswered.
The movie is a short insight, yet picturesque and filled with emotions. A good one, showing how life can turn up great even if one decides for music - at that point something noone could understand. The idea was that one cannot make a living out of music and that building/making music was for dreamers that will never make a buck out of it.



My personal rating: 7,0 (more than decent insight into Lennon's childhood and first beginnings. And I adore the young look of Paul McCartney.)


Nowhere Boy on IMDB

Nowhere Boy official site