Touching Wild Horses
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Touching Wild Horses
2002, 1 hr. 32 min., Canada/UK/Germany
Directed By: Elanore Lindo
“Touching Wild Horses” is a “must-see” movie. The story line draws in the viewer and the cinematography enhances the movie.
The film is mainly about a teenage boy, named Mark, who goes through a series of life struggles. He is forced to cope with the loss of his alcoholic father. He also has to deal with his sister’s death that was caused by a car crash, which also left his mother in a coma. Due to these tragedies, he goes to Sabel Island and lives with his Aunt Fiona.
In the beginning of the film they did not get along, but this soon changes once Aunt Fiona shows him the wild horses. They really start to get along once she tells him the horses’ ancestors may have been abandoned from a pirate ship. On his birthday, Fiona gives him a pirate gun she found on the beach. That is the same day Mark meets Chucky, an overweight military agent who does not approve of Fiona being on the island.
Just when Mark and Fiona are finally getting close, a hurricane strikes the island. Mark and Fiona are fine, but as the storm passes the youngest horse, John, is left lying on the shore caught in a fishing net. Mark rescues the horse and brings him to the house, but when Chucky hears about the accident, he tells Fiona to get off the island.
Jane Seymour (Fiona) does a wonderful job of making mood changes at transitional moments in the film. Unfortunately, the actor who plays Chucky does not do this very well. The actor that plays Mark usually does a good job, but the horses and the beauty of the island are the real stars.
At times, however, the story drags. For example there are three dream sequences that are hard to understand. The fourth dream sequence, though, gets to the bottom of the mystery and explains the car crash much better. There is a small resemblance to MGM’s “The Black Stallion.” However, there is one very original thing about this film: Mark does not become a huge horseracing star. The movie is also not entirely about horses.
The cinematography has to be one of the best things about the movie. Most of the film consists of wide shots, and there are few close-ups. The music blends beautifully with the movie and accentuates dramatic scenes very well.
All of these elements make “Touching Wild Horses” a really good movie. When the plot slows down, the actors dp bring it to life. It is great that there are not too many close-ups of peoples’ faces. This movie is perfect for seven-to sixteen-year-olds. Hopefully more people will see the movie after reading this review.
--Julian Antos