Buck
Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see. Sometimes, you will." So says Buck Brannaman, a true American cowboy and sage on horseback who travels the country for nine grueling months a year helping horses with people problems. BUCK follows Brannaman from his abusive childhood to his phenomenally successful approach to horses. A real-life "horse-whisperer", he eschews the violence of his upbringing and teaches people to communicate with their horses through leadership and sensitivity, not punishment. Buck possesses near magical abilities as he dramatically transforms horses - and people - with his understanding, compassion and respect. In this film, the animal-human relationship becomes a metaphor for facing the daily challenges of life. A truly American story about an unsung hero, BUCK is about an ordinary man who has made an extraordinary life despite tremendous odds.
Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes
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The result is a portrait that expertly mirrors its subject: Buck is shaped with the same economy, restraint, and unfussiness as the man, to unexpectedly inspiring effect.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 10.28.2011 -
It's well and good to hear Buck and others tell his story, but the film wouldn't come to much if you didn't feel the connection between his present and past in every frame.
David Edelstein, NPR, 06.24.2011 -
Documentaries have a wonderful way of making us care about people and things way outside our own experience, and "Buck" is a prime example.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 06.23.2011 -
You don't have to be a horse nut to fall for "Buck," one of those rare documentaries whose subject is so inherently fascinating that a fictional character could hardly compete.
John DeFore, Washington Post, 06.23.2011