Buck

If you are looking for a movie to get pumped for and to watch with a bunch of your friends, do not watch this movie. "Buck" serves as the perfect film for a moviegoer who wishes to enjoy a moving yet informative film that will make you rethink everything you know.

Buck Brannaman is has drastically changed the lives of many horses. Touring across the United States for nine months out of the year, Buck provides four day clinics in which he helps fellow horse lovers how to interact with horses in a structural yet caring way. He helps individuals see healthier ways to train their horses, rather than use dangerous techniques or have a dangerous attitude. In the past generations, people would torture horses in order to make them tame. They would use torture, ropes, whips, and many other scary devices to try to conquer the animal's soul by force. These practices were inhumane and a stain on our relationship with animals. Thank goodness that these are not common practices today, however, most of us are still not able to conquer the challenge of training a horse in a perfectly tame and respectful manner. Buck Brannaman understands horses and truly wants others to be able to understand their horses as well. In his clinics, he compares horse emotions to that of human emotions in a way that people can understand.

Buck Brannaman says at one point in the movie that your "horse is a mirror to your soul." You may wonder where that idea may come into play in a documentary about some horse whisperer, but this idea of introspection and finding your inner self comes into play every once in awhile. Some other interesting discussions that arise throughout the film include the ideas of speciesism and the close comparison between child rearing and horse rearing.

I started watching this movie, hoping that I wouldn't fall asleep from the knowledge that I couldn't grasp with my mind's butterfly net. But thankfully, "Buck" ended up becoming one of the the most interesting and captivating documentaries I have ever seen. This movie is the bomb and be careful when you watch it because your mind will explode.

Honestly, I was not expecting Buck to be a movie which I would thoroughly enjoy, but I was presently surprised by this documentary. I believe this movie is well composed and in some cases a step above a lot of other documentaries. Throughout the film there are emotional transitions that seem rough, but are placed well to give the movie a good cadence. To add to the cadence of the film personal stories from people who have had their horse tamed by Buck Brannaman are added and give insight to how Buck is so inspirational to them. Humor is sprinkled throughout the film, by Buck, to emphasize how such a scared soul can heal and overcome the hardships he endured in his younger years. He does this with his hard work and dedication to better himself and save an animal he understands so well.

As Buck Brannnaman puts it, he doesn't help people with horse problems, but instead horses with people problems, and throughout the movie this statement becomes more and more believable. Classic movie clips are given to show how horses used to be treated by humans and the physical and emotional pain we put them through. In one extreme case presented in the movie we see the more stern side of Buck when he confronts a woman who has let her horse become dangerous and in turn now endangers the horse, and as Buck puts it "the human has failed the horse". A relationship between a horse and its owner is that of up-most respect and this is what Buck instills in people he teaches so the horse no longer feels it has a people problem.

Overall this was a successful documentary that didn't have the big Hollywood feel to it. Cindy Meehl's first shot at directing is one that punches above the waistline and should be watched by anyone who has been searching for an off-the-beaten track film.

"God had him in mind when he made the cowboy." A documentary following the real life "Horse Whisperer" Buck Brannaman. Talking a little about the movie, but mainly focused on how he starts the horses and how and why he does what he does. I've ridden a horse once in my life, and it was on a Yellowstone led ride so I don't think that counts, so I was watching this just because I saw Buck on Letterman and because he lives out here. This is one of the most fascinating documentaries I have ever seen, and this is a movie that appeals to all people, not just horse people. It's hard not to like Buck after hearing his story and listening to him talk. This is a definite must see. Overall, there is a line in the movie that sums it up best..."I went in convinced I wasn't gonna appreciate anything I saw." We were both wrong. Very good film. I give this an A.

Would I watch again? - I think I would *Also try - Horse Whisperer

From the start of the documentary, Buck's calm, quiet, and humble demeanor captures our attention. His low voice encourages you to edge your seat forward, just so you can hear what he's saying-almost as if he's whispering a secret into your ear. Buck maintains eye contact with horses more than he does with people, simply because he understands them better. He cares for them, nurtures them, and loves them with all his heart, so much so that he sacrifices family time for a life of solitude so that he can hold clinics across the country.

Buck is truly an inspiring person. No matter how violent a colt may be when entering his clinic, Buck is always able to build a rapport with it without the use of words. He comforts and pets the horse, almost as if to say, "You're okay. Don't be afraid to let your walls down." Buck is able to show the horses that he is there to love them and that no one is there to hurt them. He even patiently ushers a violent, uncooperative 3 year old horse into the truck. Buck wants people to be able to relate to the horse before asking the horse to do something for them. He wants to help build strong and understanding relationships between horses and people.

Buck's clinics not only show how people should treat horses, but also reveal how this is about a person's life and the people in it. Buck shows others how there is always an alternative path-whether it be the way a person treats a horse or the choices a person makes in his/her life. Buck grew up with an abusive father, but refused to grow up like him. Although this seems like a gruesome childhood, Buck never needed the sympathy of others-not even when his foster father handed him a pair of beautiful working gloves the very first day he arrived. Buck shows that like people, horses are vulnerable and are capable of shutting down. He says that usually, it is the human who fails the horse through neglect and mistreatment. Towards the end of the movie, Buck regards the unfortunate event between the violent horse and its crestfallen owner, "A horse is a mirror-a mirror into your soul." This quote is truly breathtaking because it shows that not only are the participants learning about the horse, but the horse is also teaching the participants aspects about themselves that they may not realize until someone breaks the truth to them.

He opens the public's eyes to how a person and a horse can become so incredibly connected that they become one mind and one body. By simply leaning back and forth atop a horse, Buck is proof that people can gain the full cooperation of a horse without a single touch! Buck's voice and actions will seize your attention the way they did with mine.

The documentary "Buck" follows Buck Brannaman, the man most known for being a "horse whisperer" and working with Robert Redford on a movie with the same title. He runs four day training camps across the country 40 weeks out of the year in order to help people and their horses get along. The thing that really struck me with this movie was the look into another world. Now, I say another world, but what I really mean is a different kind of culture, the one you might think of when you think about old western movies. Cowboys, cowgirls, horses, and cows. Well, its not exactly the wild west, but it's as close as you're gonna get nowadays.Buck Brannaman is sort of an icon in this world. The film delves deep in to his life, the struggle he had as an adolescent, and how he conquered his life and himself. "Buck" really drives home a message of moving past the events that previously happened in your life. Through interviews of loved ones and filmed demonstrations of his, it really shows the affect he had on other peoples and their horses lives because of his own struggles. Many things from the films such as the music and the way it followed him and his family, showing his love for people and horses made the movie both interesting and heartwarming. "Buck" is an inspiring tale about a man who loves horses. It is a wonderful film experience for people who do and do not know about Buck Brannaman and his world.